Mana and the Fourteenth
by SleepytimeTea
Summary: Story of how the brothers joined the Earl and betrayed him. Doesn't affect the original story plot in any way, but is accurate to the information in the manga. Rated M for violence.
1. Curtain Opening: The Brothers

**Hello-! I haven't really uploaded for a long time, but this is a D. Gray-man fic. This a warning, but this story will LONG. Please be patient with it, and I'm pretty sure you will not be disappointed. It is also rated M for violence in later chapters. **

**IMPORTANT: You may see that in the Chapter headings thing that the chapters are split into Acts or what not, but this is all ONE story, not a series of storys or mini-storys. Thank you.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.**

**Everything in this story is a work of fiction, and so does not have any correlation with real people, places, etc. and if it does or seems like it I assure you it is a coincidence.**

* * *

"Why did Mama have to die, Mana?" My little brother had asked me then.

"I don't know." I had told him, my mouth set in a firm, thin line.

"Aunty said that God took her away because she was too good for us. Why did God take her away?"

"She was lying. Like when she lied to us about Uncle and she taking good care of us." He had blinked his bruised eyelids, putting a purple finger to his lips.

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere where you aren't ever going to get hurt by anyone."

"How about Mana?" I remained silent. "Mana?"

"I'm going to stay with you so you don't get hurt." Silence had reigned as the rain had gone _pitter-pat_ upon the pavement.

"Is it going to be rough? Finding the place, I mean? Like those stories Mother used to tell us?" I had smiled sadly at him.

"Yeah." Maybe then it was because of the rain. Without meaning to, tears had just come out. I had not been crying that time, I had not felt sadness; tears just spilled out of my eyes. My brother had watched me then, mystified. "Yeah. 'cept that we'll find a place. And when we do, and everything's over, we can say 'Well done' and be happy." My brother had nodded solemnly.

* * *

"Wait, Mana! Mana, wait!" My little brother huffed after me, trying to catch up.

"You idiot! Hurry up already! That guy'll catch up with us any minute!" I yelled over my shoulder at him as I sprinted down the alleyway. Sure enough, when I turned around, our pursuer was only a short distance behind my brother. We had just managed to take what would be our first meal of the day from a street vender. It wasn't stealing, we needed it, and the street vender dropped it anyway. It wasn't wrong in any way possible. But adults are so contradictory. Even though it was his own fault, and even though they were bruised fruit that no one would want to buy, that vendor came after us with the intention to kill us.

"You brats! I'll kill you for trying to steal!" _Hah. Hah._ I started to pant louder and louder as I tried to run faster and faster. Such a stupid vendor. Another person could be stealing his wares just as he's chasing us right now. Suddenly the world seemed to have turned upside down as I tripped on a rock.

"Mana!" I heard my brother yell. _Darnit!_ The vendor was upon him, his cruel, distorted features leering wickedly at him as he panted from running. I turned back and rammed into the vendor.

"Run!" I yelled, as I tried to scramble up and run again. But I was not so lucky. The vendor grabbed me from the back and flung me down, successfully knocking the breath out of me.

"You …will never…steal from my stall…again!" He grabbed my leg as I was pulled from the ground. _Thwack._ With his arm he hurled me down to a nearby concrete wall. Dizzy, I tried to get up but this time he grabbed me by the front of my shirt. I looked to see his face, filled with cruelty as his fist smashed into my cheek. Tears started to streak down my face as he slugged me, again and again. Where was my brother? I looked through the punches. The vendor punched me in the stomach, his face a mask of triumph.

"Crying, are we? You should have known that this might happen if you stole, you bastard offspring of some whore!" _Thwack._ Blood started to stream out of my mouth. _Thwack. Thwack. Crack._ "AAGH!" I cried out in pain as his punch hit one of my ribs, breaking it. "You're dead! Even your-" _Smash._ -he flung me towards the wall - "-brother, is it? Even he left you-" –_Kick_-"You're so pitiful, you should be thankful that I'm gonna kill you-" _Kick._ I glared at him through my blurry vision in anger. _What a coward._ The vendor noticed.

"What's with the look in your eyes?" He said, a bead of sweat running down his face. "A cornered rat-" _Thwack_ "-Should act more-"_Thwack_ "-like the miserable scum you are!" _Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. _Punches upon punches rained upon me. _Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. _I saw red, my consciousness starting to become bleak. _Did he get away safely?_

"Shit." I heard the vendor curse under his breath. _Splat. Splat._ I felt raindrops, and heard the boots of the vender grind into the ground. My eyes were half open, as if in a daze. My body felt cold.

"Hey! You, sir!" I heard a voice, sounding quite alarmed.

"Why hello, sir. Is there something wrong?" The vendor's voice changed, a peaceful, polite tone. Nothing like the rough, sadistic tone used seconds ago. While the vender looked at this new person, so did I, my eyes roaming in swelled up sockets. Ah. A policeman.

"What happened to that young boy right there? Is he all right?" He came closer, peering into my face. "Is he….dead? What happened?"

"Well…I was selling my wares over there when I heard some shouts, sir, and I came to see what was about, sir, and there were these ruffians, sir, and they were beating him up, sir, I think it was a gang fight or somethin' like that, sir, and when I broke up the fight, he was already like this, sir. I was jus' 'bout to get some help. 'm hoping it's not too late for him." He held his hat in his hands like he was very sorry. Liar. Liar. LIAR. I screamed in my thoughts, although it was more of a whisper than anything else.

"Oh, I see." The policeman looked relieved. "I'll leave it to you then. With so many bad people nowadays, it's rare to see such upstanding people like yourself. Thank you very much." And he turned away as the vender muttered a "Thank you, sir." Are you blind? Can you not see the clots of my blood that is all over that man's hand? Can you not see through the mask he wears to that of the malicious man who would have murdered me? Can you not see the…. My body was so numb from the falling rain, like ice. A stone statue. The vendor turned to me again.

"Ah well. The rain'll finish you off." _Crunch. Crunch._ The boots filled with the feet of the man who almost killed me walked away. _Splish. Splish. Splish._ There's the sound of rain washing over me. A light, hazy gray sky is all I see. The rain starts to numb my senses, and my vision becomes fuzzy.

* * *

"Brother! Brother!" It's my little brother. Crying, as usual. Darn. And right after I promised that this wouldn't happen again. His face is angry in addition to his usual crying face. "You promised! You promised, Mana!" Yeah. I promised. I promised for what had been the millionth time I wouldn't get hurt. Damn.

"Shut up, just shut up." I told him raspily, dragging myself up. "Calm down. I can still walk. Just shut up for now and let's go. You hid what we got?" He nodded sullenly. "Good. Now let's get some shelter."

* * *

"Where are we going to go now?" He asked after a night of sleeping under the bridge we called home. It was still raining the next day when we went outside to scrounge for food. I closed my eyes wearily. Since that incident yesterday there was no way that we could walk around the marketplace unawares. Shit. I have to be careful, in many ways more than one. He had refused to talk to me all of yesterday, and was still giving me the cold shoulder, talking to me as minimally as possible. I sighed.

"We're going to the alley. People throw stuff away sometimes. We'll be able to find some stuff there." This was actually untrue. We were going to a church in the middle of a convent that all rich people flocked to for their lives to be saved. Sometimes there were some old toys strewn about to be carried out for orphanages left outside of the church ready to be delivered, and that should pacify him, if only for this time.

I had not been joking when I had said I was going to stay with him so he didn't get hurt. I will live up to that promise, in addition to the one made to Mother. Even if he forgot, or even if he hated me.

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**Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy the rest, if you choose to do so.**


	2. Act One: Forte Piano

**HI! ****I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man. I also do not own 'Tsunaida te ni kiss wo' by Sanae Kobayashi.**

**Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc.**

* * *

"Looks like there's going to be a Carnival coming soon." Mana said, looking at a leaflet stuck on the alleyway.

"Hmn," I answered half heartedly. Mana looked at me, and then sighed as he kept on walking.

_Plit. Pitter-patter pit._ The rain drizzled on top of us as we walked towards where Mana had said there would be free things._ Splish. Splish. _I kicked at the puddles on the ground with my shoes as I walked, thinking. It reminded me of when Mana and I had come out of Aunt's house after Uncle had drunken himself silly again. I was nine then, and was beaten often, so I could only remember gaps of it, but the conversation was still clear. I had asked Mana why Mother died, why she wasn't there anymore. Aunt had said that we were bad; that God felt pity for Mother that she had to be with us that he took her away. I'd argued with her, saying that God wouldn't do that, because God knew Mother loved us. Aunt hit me then. When I had asked, Mana had told me she had lied, looking grim.

"Where are we going?" I distinctly remember asking, because I remembered Mana's reply.

"Somewhere where you aren't ever going to get hurt by anyone." His face was cold, and his eyes wild. When Mother had read me a book when I was very little, there was an expression I didn't understand. The expression was "as cold as death", and it described a person's expression as such. Mother had explained that a dead person's body was cold, very cold, and so death was also very cold. At that moment, when I saw Mana's face, I knew what it meant that a person's gaze is "as cold as death". Mana's eyes seemed like it wanted to hurt someone, and I remember it had scared me. I'd remembered this when I found Mana after he had been beaten up by the vender. Mana had been so cold then, I was really scared.

"How about Mana?" I had asked while Mana remained silent. I had asked that because when Aunt had been in one of her better moods, she had told me that Mana had grown up too quickly for a child, closing his feelings too much. To the seven year old me, I had thought it unfair if I was happy and Mana was not. That was when I still called Mother 'Mama'. I grew up since then.

"Hey, look. We're here." Mana pointed to the boxes filled with old toys and books as we rounded a small, broken streetlamp. The objects inside the boxes were very old and worn. I looked up at him apprehensively.

"Go on, come on, take some of it." He said. "No one's ever probably going to use these again anyway." I rummage through it, and I find a book, a book that reminded me of home. When Mother been alive, she had owned a house, a ghost of a house that I barely remember, and there had been a book like this. Mana said that I didn't remember much about mother because I had been young when she died, but I was four then. In my foggy mire of memories, something about this book, with its weird squiggles and signs, its diagram of boxes that that are black and white arranged together in a row with words I can barely spell out, something was nostalgic. Images, mere pictures of slices of forgotten time, seemed to come from this book. A woman in a white dress−was it Mother?− was laughing−people dancing−people crying−

"I want this." I said, grasping the tattered book and hugging it to myself. My brother looked at me oddly.

"What, does it look interesting? It's a book on musical notes, you know." I nodded. He sighed.

"Fine. Well, it might be nostalgic to you since Mother played the piano when she was alive." I blinked. I had no recollection of that, but I nodded.

"Are you sure you don't want anything else?" Mana asked worriedly.

"Yup. What about Mana?" I looked up at him questioningly. Mana rarely ever took anything for himself. He noticed my concern.

"Well, there's a book and a few pens in here. I'll teach you how to read and write with those. Mother would have wanted you to know how, and these blankets… maybe they'll be useful. 'Kay then, let's go." He said bluntly, taking those items. In silence we returned to our shelter underneath the bridge, waiting until the thunderstorm ended.

"What do these dots mean?" I asked, mystified as I flipped through the pages, pointing at the different dots on five lines. Mana leaned closer.

"They're different notes."

"Notes?"

"Yeah, you know, like A and E." Mana bent his voice up and down, so that his voce became higher, then lower. I didn't understand.

"Like letters of the alphabet?"

"...yeah, something like that." Mana looked tired as he took off his coat, which was torn at places and sat on it. His gaunt face lolled, resting on his shoulder, eyes open, keeping watch. He looked over to me, who had been staring.

"Hey, you need to get some sleep." He took the coat and covered it over my head. It was slightly damp, but it was warm. I nodded, but under cover of the coat I watched my brother for a while. His shirt was off, like it always was when it was raining to let it dry, and he sat in fetal position, his elbows resting on his knees. His face was unreadable as it glared out into the rain, eyes staring far, far away.

"Hey, Mana." I said after a while. He turned his head and sighed.

"What, you still weren't asleep yet?"

"Mana, what's a piano?" He blinked.

"You don't remember?" He asked. I shook my head.

"It's like a horn, or flute, but bigger, and costs more." I nodded.

"Was there one when Mother was alive?" Mana's eyes seemed nostalgic, reminiscing.

"Yup," He said. "It was a grand white piano." Had I seen it before?

"Hey Mana, when did Mother die?"

"...when you were four. Then Aunt and Uncle took us in." Was there one there?

"Was it at Aunt's place?" Mana's eyes darkened, looking far away.

"No, because Aunt and Uncle sold it off."

"...I see. Did Mother play the piano?" I asked. I didn't quite understand why, but this piano object intrigued me.

"Of course, I told you she did. Anyway, she wouldn't be able to teach it to me if she couldn't play, now could she?" He looked at me oddly. "She used to sing, too. When we were little she'd sing us lullabies so that we'd fall asleep." Lullabies... It seemed nice. There was a silence.

"Mana?" I broke through the silence that Mana had created once more as he was recalling memories.

"What?"

"Sing me one." Mana blinked.

"Sing what?" I stifled a giggle at Mana's baffled voice.

"One of Mother's lullabies." I could imagine Mana's usually sullen face turning into a scowl. I smiled.

"No." He answered in a final way.

"Come on, Mana. Please?"

"No."

"Don't be a meanie!"

"No. You're ten years old! You're too old for lullabies." Mana said shortly.

"Don't make excuses! Just because you were born two years earlier, you were able to hear Mother's lullabies! I wasn't!" I retaliated. I supposed that that was a rather insensitive way to put it, but I was curious. Plus I didn't think before I spoke. I heard Mana sigh, overcome with guilt.

"Fine. But I can't sing a tune to save my life. You know that. So I'm only going to say the words, got it?" Mana sounded flustered.

"That's fine with me!" I said serenely. The image of Mana singing was rather amusing.

"If I remember it right, it was like this;

And then the little boy fell asleep

Among the ashes in the flames shining

First one, then two

A floating being, a beloved face

The thousands of dreams that trickle to earth

That night when the silver eyes tremble

The shining you was born

Across millions of years

However many prayers are returned to earth

I will continue to pray

That this child may know love

A kiss to the held hand."

There was a silence after Mana finished.

"It's a good poem...lullaby...thing." I said, yawning. "It made me sleepy." I heard Mana chuckle. I was half asleep when Mana spoke.

"Here, tomorrow night, let's go look at one." My eyes opened, slightly.

"What?" I replied sleepily.

"A piano." I didn't question why.

"..where?"

"There's a piano at that chapel church thing."

"...Really?"

"Yup."

"O-kay." I could no longer keep my eyes open, and I drifted off to sleep as I tried to ignore the rumblings of my stomach.

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**Note: Forte Piano is the original name for the piano. In music, forte tells the musician to play loudly, and piano tells the musician to play softly. The harpischord, which came before the piano, was popular during the Baroque era, but unlike the piano, it could only play in one dynamic (volume of sound or note) so it couldn't become louder or softer. Hence, when the piano was introduced it was called Forte Piano, or Piano Forte, due to its ability to let its notes become softer or louder.**

**Thank you for reading. It still has some ways to go until the action, but what do you think? I appreciate any feedback-!**


	3. Act Two: Divertimento

**Ello-hay! Thanks for clicking on this fanfiction! I hope you enjoy reading. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.**

**Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc.**

* * *

"You see it?" I asked him as he stood on a crate. It was still early morning, and we were by the chapel in the convent. We had snuck in to see the piano. Albeit the danger of being caught, doing something impulsive, this mischievous, this daring was thrilling. It was like pulling a prank; if we were stealthy about it, we won't get caught.

"Nope." My little brother said as he struggled to make his height as tall as he could. I chuckled a bit. He was already ten and he hadn't hit his growth spurt yet. His face was shining with excitement, something I hadn't seen in a while. He needed something like this; something that was lighthearted. Can't have him growing up too fast like me.

"Here." I helped him up onto the crate I was standing on.

"I see it!" I smiled as he admired it. "It's pretty." He said dreamily. "Hey, hey Mana," He started to poke my head. I looked up, pretending to be annoyed.

"What, you little idiot brother?" He stuck out his tongue.

"Don't call me little. Can I learn to play that?" I automatically started to mouth the word 'no' when I stopped. That was right. He had to give up a lot because I dragged him out of Aunt's house. He could probably have learned to play had I not dragged him out. "..someday? Hey, Mana?" I looked up. He was looking concernedly at me.

"Yep, sure, why not?" I was taking a risk here, but if it goes to plan we won't get caught. "If we come in here at night and sneak in again, I'm sure that you'll be able to learn it." It was his turn to look apprehensive now.

"Are you sure, Mana?" Orbs of worry stared into my own. "It could be later down the road, you know? When we aren't this poor." My jaw hardened, my teeth gritting. There was no way in hell I could tell my brother that we were probably never getting out of the poverty. I moulded my face into a smile.

"No, its fine. You should learn it now. We can, anyway. We'll come back at night, got it?" With him still on my shoulders and still looking worried, we strolled off to find our morning breakfast.

* * *

_Creak._ I opened the door of the Chapel, showering the dark room with a sliver of moonlight. It was night, and as I had promised, we had snuck in once again.

"Is this really ok, Mana? If we are going to get in trouble and you're going to get hurt again, I don't want to do it." He said firmly. I turned around and looked at him.

"Nothing's going to happen. And we won't get in trouble unless someone finds out, and that won't happen if we're sneaky about it. Got it?" He nodded uneasily. We walked to the white piano that was on the platform, and I opened the wooden cover to reveal white and black keys. My little brother, amazed, put a finger to one of them, and jumped as a high, almost meek note resounded from the instrument. _Pli-nk._

"Ok, sit here." I motioned for him to sit on the piano bench. "And put your hands on the keys like this, but don't press on them" He nodded obediently and sat. Ok…now how to do this…I tried to remember how Mother did this, how Mother would have taught him if she was alive….

"You see the keys well enough, right?" He nodded, even though we could only see the keys by the moonlight. "The keys over here," I pointed to the left. "are the lowest notes, and as you move along to the notes to the right, it gets higher and higher." I pointed to the right.

"Higher? As in rank?"

"No." How do I explain it to him? This was a lot harder than I thought. "Look- listen for a second." I hit the last key to the left. _Blunk._ The low note of the low A sounded. Then I went over a few keys and hit an E. _Blink._ I kept going to the right, always a few keys over. _Plunk. Plink._

"Now do you get it?" He nodded slowly.

"Kind of. So the more to the right I go, the more it sounds like a bird chirping out of breath, while the more to the left I go it sounds like a engine." I blinked, then scratched my head.

"Yeah...something like that." Now telling him which notes were where. I took out the music book he had taken out of the box. "Now, this note," I pointed, and played it. "Is called the A. And this one, is the B, and this one is the C." He nodded, playing the notes over and over.

"Now look." I placed the music book on top of the music stand in front of him, and pointed to the notes of A, B, and C on the music staff. "These are A, B, and C too. When you see these notes, you play them, got that? Let's start with this one...Hot Cross Buns." I pointed to it.

"Wait, I don't get it. What are these squiggles?" I leaned in.

"Oh, those are rests. You aren't supposed to play for one beat."

"What's a beat?"

"A beat is...look, you know these notes that you play, right?" He nodded. "The beat is how long each of these notes are. So they're supposed to be around the same length, alright?"

"Got it." An hour passed by with him trying to play the basic songs like Hot Cross Buns, left and right hand, Rudimentary Exercises for both hands, among many others. I looked up as the large bell tower in the middle of the convent struck three in the morning. We should go, as the nuns or whatever would be up for their prayers or whatnot.

"Ok, lil' bro, we need to go. C'mon." He yawned, but started moving as I scooped up the book and put anything we used back. We walked under the dark sky, which was like an ocean that had been tipped upside down, a royal, deep, deep blue.

"Hey Mana, after we get breakfast and everything, can you teach me more from this book, and can we go back there tonight?" He asked, his eyes full of sleepiness as I scooped him up to let him ride on my back.

"Yeah, but after you've slept." I told him as his eyes closed into the realm of sleep. I walked through alleys, and noticed the piece of paper that I had read before. 'CARNIVALE' it stated in large, colourful wording. I ripped it off the wall took it with me as I reached the bridge and set my brother down. I put my coat, which looked as if I had gone through a war with it, on top of him as I stretched out. My shirt clung to my torso with rain and perspiration. I took it off; keeping it on would mean courting pneumonia. I looked over to my little brother, and took off his shirt, which was also dripping wet, from him and hung it to dry. I grimaced as I saw his skinny body, ribs almost sticking out. No wonder, I should have noticed when his cheeks had started to hollow slightly. For half a year we'd been able to get by on what that I had stolen from our Aunt and Uncle when we had left, but that had run out long ago. An option would be to steal. At the same time, if we stole from residents, we would be found suspicious, and relocating wasn't necessarily easy. However, he needed food. A carnival... I looked at the piece of paper lying before me. Considering the factors, a plan started formulating in my mind.

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**Note: Divertimento is a musical genre that started in the 18th century, and the songs have a lighthearted mood meant to amuse and entertain. (Comes from Italian _Divertire_, meaning to amuse). It can also refer to a musical composition that has several short movements with no fixed form. For the title of the chapter I mean to use the former definition.**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are welcome!^_^**


	4. Act Three: Carnivale

**Hi! Just on an added note, I'll be updating this series weekly (every Sunday). This is a rather short chapter though...'_^; well, hopefully you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

**Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc.**

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"Mana?" I asked. "Is something happening today?" A month had passed since we first started to sneak into the Chapel. I could play a variety of songs now, including songs that used both hands at the same time. However, today, the city looked different. More people than usual were walking about, and they all were heading somewhere.

"Yeah. A carnival. I told you about it, right?" Mana said, poking my face.

"Mana seems strangely happy today. Why is that?" I asked. Mana usually looked really grim.

"You'll see." He said mysteriously. I could see it in his eyes; Mana's eyes were dancing. We skittered among the crowd, and since we were still little we were able to see what was on the floor. It amazed me how much food and money there could be found on the ground. Mana must have been happy about this; we could finally have a decent meal now. I looked up. I saw that people were heading towards a big, colourful tent.

"Hey Mana. Mana. Mana." I said, pointing and tugging on his shirt, tugging harder as I said his name repeatedly. He didn't respond. "Mana!" I said impatiently. I looked up, ready to yell at him for ignoring me, when I saw that it was a fat clownish figure. Where was Mana?

"Hello boy." The clown said, smiling, looking amused. The clown looked stupid. "Are you lost, like me?" I stared blankly at him. The clown had a top hat on, and his teeth were huge, like a rabbit's. He was also very fat. "Hmm?" I touched his teeth, curious.

"How do you manage to keep your mouth open like that? Doesn't it hurt?" The clown looked surprised. Then he laughed.

"Ahaha." He held out a piece of candy. "Do you want one?" I looked at it, tempted to take it. Then I remembered. Mana told me that people never gave stuff away unless there was something in it for them.

"Wait." I told the clown, and looked on the ground. On the sidewalk, where there was a crack, there were two dandelions. I plucked them and held them out to the clown. "Here, we'll trade, so you'll have to give me two."

"Is one for someone?" The clown asked, taking out another one.

"Yup, it's for my brother Mana." I answered, trading.

"What's your name?"

"My name is..."

"Hey!" Mana rushed over to me and grabbed me by the arm. "Don't go off wandering on your own!" He looked frazzled. I turned to him, frowning.

"But that nice clown over there gave me candy!" I turned to point, but the clown had vanished. Mana was not impressed.

"What clown?" He asked suspiciously. I turned, irritated. He was the one that left me in the first place!

"There was a clown, Mana." I said firmly. "He was really weird looking. See, I traded dandelions for candy." I held out the candy as proof. Mana sighed.

"Fine. But don't be so trusting of others. This world is full of lies." Mana said, his eyes narrowed.

"Yes, yes." I answered nonchalantly. But I knew he was right.

* * *

"-where were you-lero?"

"Oh, just strolling around-Road! Did you take Lero again?" The clown asked as a girl with short hair twirled an umbrella with a pumpkin at the end, extracting a series of cries that sounded like "Lerorororororo!"

"But seriously, what were you doing?" A youth spoke from the shadows. "It's not like you to wander about in human carnivals." The already-there smile on the clown's face seemed to deepen in innocent mirth.

"Just more business! Business -3!" The clown twirled around, taking the umbrella from the girl.

"Hey! You said that you were just strolling!" The girl pouted, trying to take back the umbrella. "Nn? What's this?" She pointed to the two dandelions sticking out from his pocket.

"Oh, that." The clown said as the girl took them out.

"They're pretty." The girl commented, twirling the two in between her fingers. "But I suppose they'll die soon, right, Duke?" The clown looked at it for a few moments. He smiled evilly, but did not answer.

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**...and so the Earl is introduced! **

**Note: '-3' is my failed attempt at a heart mark. I tried about ten times with the 'greater than/less than' mark to make those heart marks with the 3, but it wouldn't pop up, so if you have any suggestions to my failure, please tell me.**

**Thanks for reading! If you have time, please review!**


	5. Act Four: Poco a poco rapido

**Hi-! Sorry for the (kind of) late update!**

**Many thanks to **FireFox Vixen **for the first review(Dances around in circles, looking foolish)! I really appreciate it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

******Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy!**

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"You seemed to have learned a lot." I commented at the progress of my brother. He had learned all the notes on the piano, and was proceeding to learn chords. During the days of the carnival we had scrounged for money and food, so we'd be okay supply-wise for at most a month, so afterwards we continued to sneak into the convent and let my little brother tinker with the piano.

"Mm." He said, nodding. "Hey Mana, can you give me a sheet of paper and a pen from there?" I looked to where he pointed. Underneath the altar for the chapel there was a bottle of ink and loose sheafs of paper. I handed the items to him, slightly apprehensive.

"What're you doing?" I questioned. He looked up at me, pouting as he found a stick off the ground to write with.

"It's a secret! Let's take a break from learning the piano for now, ok?" I complied, too worn out to object. I could barely keep my eyes open as I watched for any sign of danger. _.Plunk._ Piano keys were pressed as my little brother messed around with the keys. He must've wanted to play around. _Pl-pl-plunk._ A chord was hit, followed by consecutive notes. They were not fast notes, but it was becoming faster. My lips curved into a smile. He really was doing well. I looked up, and seeing that he was busy scribbling something on the sheet of paper, I became curious. He didn't know how to write yet...what was he doing?

Without making any noise, I stood up from where I was sitting in the pew and walked so that I was positioned right behind him, so I looked over his shoulder. He was drawing something like a music score, yet it wasn't exactly. The music staff ... or what looked like the music staff was... curved. Into a circle. There was a smaller circle within the bigger. The staff also was not the regular five lines, but a single line. Notes, some sticking out and others staying on the line, littered the staff.

"What...is that?" I asked, baffled. My little brother jumped, surprised.

"...!" He then relaxed. "Mana! Don't sneak up on me, what would have happened if I made a mistake or yelled?" I laughed as he mock-punched me.

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry, alright? But what are you doing?" He stopped punching me and held up the paper.

"It's a song." He looked up at me, beaming. "Wanna hear it?" I looked at him, surprised. A song? But in such a short time...I smiled. That was my brother for you.

_Plinkaplinkaplinkaplinka-plink ,plink, plink. _It started off with a high A, descending to a G and rising again, this time to a high D, with a low B being the chord for the first beat. As the song progressed, the bass clef's notes began to have its own rhythm, colliding and aiding the melody line. It was a simple song; no fast, complicated or fancy techniques. It lulled my already sleepy mind into a daze. It was almost like...

"Is this...supposed to be a lullaby?" I asked, jerking alive and cocking my head. My brother looked up and smiled.

"Yup! Remember the lullaby poem thing that you told me that Mother sang? If we just put the words with the music it'll be a lullaby." I had to smile at that. But I had a few questions.

"But why is the staff a circle? And why only one line?" I pointed out, laughing.

"It goes around in a circle, so it repeats." He explained, pointing. "See? Then there's this arrow thing, and it tells you that you need to move to this smaller circle from the bigger one. It's one line because I needed to save ink, 'cause if I used too much the chapel people can get suspicious." I grinned at him, patting his head with my hand, forgetting to tell him that there existed something called a repeat sign. He is learning, after all. That's a good thing.

"You should sign it." I suggested. He looked up at me quizzically.

"Sign it?"

"Yeah, sign it. To show that you were the one that made it." I explained. "People who write their own songs do that, so that people can't copy what they've already done. You write your own name on it."

"Mana, I don't know how to write." He said, rather put out. Then his face brightened. "Hey Mana, when Mother was alive, didn't she have a necklace?" I knitted my brows together. What did a necklace have to do with it?

"Yeah,... what about it?" I was confused. "And Mother had a lot of necklaces. Which one are you talking about?"

"It's the necklace that she didn't really wear, you know, the one that was usually above the fireplace. It was on a chain, and it was really big... it had a weird sign on it...Mother put that same sign on papers and such. I only remember because I played with it a lot." I searched my memory...a necklace...on the fire place...maybe...

"Are you talking about the medallion? About this big" I motioned with my hand, cupping it. "and it was red, with gold lines on it, showing the family crest?"

"Uhh...I think so." He paused. "What's a family crest?"

"Remember? We were rich until Mother died, and so we were basically a noble family. The noble family of Walker, so we had something to do with the Queen, so to show that we were official or something we had a family crest. It showed that our family had something to do it. Ok, so what about it?"

"Can't we put that as my sign? But I don't remember it so you have to draw it, Mana." He handed the paper over to me. I sighed, and closed my eyes, trying to remember what it looked like. It had looked like a shield...yes...with a ribbon..

"Ok.." I said slowly, picking up the stick and putting the edge into the inkpot. "Where do you want it?" He pointed to empty space that was created due to the two circles, right in the middle of the page. I started to draw, making sure that the ink did not drip. It took a while, considering that I had to stop and try and remember details.

"What was our family called again, Mana?" My little brother asked as he watched my progress.

"We were the Walkers." I replied, making another stroke.

"...hehe!" He giggled. I ignored him as I concentrated. However, by the time that I finished, he was on the ground, holding his stomach and laughing quietly. I looked at him, bemused. "What? It's funny, Mana. Hehe, 'cause..hehe, it sounds like we have to walk forever... Hehehehe...Mana, you're Mana Walker!" I didn't really see his argument, but I could see that it was a really weak attempt at humor, and that made me laugh as well. Pretty soon I joined in with him.

"...ahahahahahaha...hahaha..." Laughter resounded throughout the room that we didn't notice that the door had creaked open.

"Who's there?" A quiet, scared voice said. I stiffened and reacted immediately. I covered my little brother's mouth and got behind a pew, glaring. Damn, I had been having too much fun. The sun was rising, and the nuns from the convent were probably up and about now. The person, most likely a nun, closed the door and started to walk forwards. I motioned for my brother to crawl. He slid his music score in his pocket and did so. With some luck, the nun will only think that it had been her imagination. We moved down the pews as she approached the piano and altar.

"Where are you? I know that you're here." Again, that high, scared voice. Damn. I looked back at where we had been seconds ago. In our hurry we had forgotten the tattered music book and left the ink bottle out on the ground. I gritted my teeth. We'd just have to run for it. We were almost at the doorway, but to run to the doorway would mean exposing ourselves. I looked from behind the pew. As I had guessed, it was a nun. With her dress, it would be impossible for her to run. She turned around, looking behind the altar. I took my chance. I ran up to the door and tried to quietly open the door without incessant noise.

_Gachak._ I froze as it made a noise. Damn! It was locked. I fumbled with the contraption as the voice rang out once again.

"Stop!" The nun said. "I-if you're trying to get out, then you should hide over in this cabinet, where the spare robes are kept. Morning Mass is about to start, so going out would only mean you would be caught." My eyes narrowed as I looked at the nun. My little brother tugged on my shirt.

"Mana, she seems nice. Why don't we do what she says?" I ignored him. I glared at her, then I slowly looked through a crack in the door. It was true. More nuns were coming in droves.

"Tch!" I gritted my teeth. There was no other alternative. I strode to the cabinet where she motioned, dragging my brother with me. She handed my brother the music book as we clambered in.

"I-I'll let you out once Mass is over." The nun promised. I did not trust her. She made the motion to close the door completely. I narrowed my eyes.

"Don't you dare." I hissed out. The nun looked bewildered, so she left the door open slightly. Of course, I scoffed inside. It would have been stupid had we had gotten locked in and were left to die.

"Mana," My little brother breathed out. He was scared; I could tell. "What should we do-"

"Shuttup." I hissed as we heard footsteps enter into the chapel. "Go to sleep. Close your eyes. Just go to sleep." I put a hand over his eyes until I felt his eyes close, and soon I heard him breathing regularly, showing that he had fallen asleep. My eyelids also started to fall. Lately due to the piano and the carnival I had not been getting enough sleep. I silently berated myself. How was I going to take care of him without vigilance? I desperately tried to keep awake, but I fell into a daze, as that was all my current state could muster. The droning of the bishop or whoever; the chorus singing...it was all just something that was far, far away. All the sounds seemed to meld together in one stewpot of sounds, with my mind hearing everything yet not comprehending. My head felt heavy, and nausea crept at my throat.

"_Et benedicite nomini..c-antate do-mino..._"

"In the name of the Holy..."

"..ah, yes Father, I'll arrange that."

"Well then, I'll leave everything to you, Mother Superior."

"Ah, Sister Maria. May I help you?"

"H-hello, Father Luke. I-I'm in charge of, um, c-cleaning the Chapel today." From my lethargic stupor I became more awake, more aware, more alert. Where...was I? I took in my surroundings. Right. We need to get out of there. Most of the footsteps had gone out of the Chapel. I shook my brother awake.

"Mnnn..." With a little moan he woke up.

"Hey, get up." He rubbed his eyes as I shook him again.

"Is it safe yet?" He asked quietly.

"I don't know." I answered. "But as soon as people leave, we're out of here."

"But didn't that lady say that we should stay here until she lets us out?"

"Idiot!" I hissed. "It's not like we're at her mercy or anything; we don't even have to get involved with her this way. She's probably tricking us anyways."

"But..." I ignored him and tried to concentrate on the number of footsteps. Judging from the sound it seemed as if there was only one person besides us. I desperately wanted the person to leave already, but I waited. If I made haste here we could be found out. Then I realized with a jolt that the footsteps were getting closer and closer to where we were.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._ The shoes made soft thumping noises on the carpet as the owner strode closer and closer. I prepared myself to meet the intruder, keeping my brother behind me to shield him.

_Creak._ The door opened, revealing the nun. She smiled.

"Hello. Uh, um..." She laughed quietly but sheepishly. "M-mass is over now, so...you should leave." My brother had relaxed, smiling. I kept my guard up.

"Yeah, we'll do so." I replied quickly, grabbing my brother up with me as I scrambled up towards the door.

"W-wait!" The nun managed to stutter out. "B-before you leave, can you please tell me why you were in the Chapel?" I looked at her with derision.

"Do you expect us to explain to you just because you helped us? If you wanted to know you should've let us get caught. What if we were stealing? What're you going to do about it? You can't do anything now; you've let your chance slip by." The look on her face was of careful confusion; an innocent confusion. The face was of a child confused by the ways of the world, why 1 + 1 did not exactly come out to be two. I scoffed, and turned to leave, but my brother ran the other way to her. I put a hand to my head. Damn. I'd forgotten that there was another child who was innocently confused. He took her hands in his.

"We didn't do anything bad, okay? We just wanted to learn the piano, so we snuck in here at night. That's all we did, 'kay?" I think that the fact that we might have done something wrong had pricked my little brother's conscience. However this was not the time. I coughed.

"If you want to explain or whatnot, you can do it later, after we've got to somewhere safe." I cut in, still glaring at the nun. She turned her attention to me, her face serious.

"Yes, I'd thought about that, so I took on the chore of watering the outer garden. That way I can lead you out without looking suspicious." I narrowed my eyes. What did this obstinate nun want to do with us? Did she want to convert us or something? I almost laughed uncharacteristically. My thoughts started to disconnect; my body was worn and tired.

"Whatever. We're going." I strode out. Reluctantly, my brother came, followed by the nun. They chatted happily, already friendly with each other. Keeping my guard up, I listened to their conversation.

"I haven't properly introduced myself. I am Sister Maria, a novice in this convent." The nun smiled, taking my little brother's hand.

"Sister? You're lying. I only have a brother, and that's Mana." He said, guarded.

"No, no. We are brothers and sisters under God, and so I am a Sister."

"..hmmmm..." He looked skywards, letting the idea roll in his head. What was he thinking? I smiled mirthlessly. He needed to be more wary, more cynical, distrusting of others. The world was not such a place where people can be trusted easily. Otherwise..."...hey Mana. Mana. Mana!"

"What?" I looked over at him.

"Can we help her water the outer garden? She says we can take some of the fruits off there if we're hungry." I wanted to say no. I wanted to shout, to yell at him, hit him for being so naive and trusting. Did he have no sense whatsoever? It could be a trap! However, I can't leave him here. I must stay with him... I glanced at his torn shirt. His ribs were still visible. I wanted to hit myself for my helplessness. I promise to protect him, but I haven't even done the first thing about taking care of him! The ongoing battle within me was overruled by another glance at his ribs. Tch, as long as nothing happens...

"Fine, let's go." I dragged my fatigued body forward, onward.

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**Hehehe! Happy be me ^_^. **

**Actually, I didn't realize until I finished writing this out that the Sister's name was Maria. Just so people know, she is not the same 'Maria' as the doll corpse thing that Cross Marian has with him.**

**Note: 'poco a poco' means a little by little, and 'rapido' is fast, so it means musically to get faster a little by little. **

**Thank you for reading! If you have the time, please write a review!**


	6. Act Five: Affrettando

**Hi, sorry but I switched the chapter title of the last chapter to this one, it seemed to fit better.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

******Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"And you see, Maria said that she'll teach me the piano, and that we can take fruit from the outer garden if we help her water it!" I said excitedly to my brother as the sun started to dip, signalling the day was almost over. Maria was really nice. Yesterday, for watering the garden she handed us buckets and all we had to do was put water in it and pour onto the garden and we were able to eat a full meal. Maria had also given us a container so that we could take some home with us. She also offered us a place to stay, but Mana declined. For some reason Mana didn't like Maria, always keeping a distance from her. His eyes also seemed to narrow whenever I mentioned her name. I reached and pinched his nose. He looked up in annoyance.

"You know, if you keep narrowing your eyes like that and creasing your eyebrows like that, your face will end up that way forever, you know!" He warily took my hand off of his nose. His hand missed completely, waving in air. He did not notice.

"Yeah, whatever." He said, closing his eyes and shaking his head, which made his growing hair messy. He looked tired.

"Mana!" He looked up immediately with an expression of 'What now?' I looked at him, determined. "Close your eyes. Don't open them until I say so." He glared at me, but it seemed like he was too tired to care. I turned away, taking out the music score that I wrote from out of Mana's coat, which was so holey that it might as well have been a fishing net. I giggled, looking at the score. It was magnificent. It was brilliant. Looking at it made me beam with happiness, as if I could take on the world. I had created something. That fact, and that fact alone, made me feel like I was brimming with light, however much of an exaggeration it seemed. I looked at the Walker crest that Mana drew. It was a shield, with a ribbon framing it and a simple three-pronged crown on top of the shield. Inside the crest were little lines that I couldn't make out. I looked over at Mana, who had fallen asleep. How he had managed to remember was beyond me, but it was a good thing. My score looked better because of it.

I looked at the insignia once again, entranced by it. It was the Walker crest. Mana had also called it the coat of arms. Hm. Walker. Mana's name had fitted well with it. Mana Walker. What about my name? I tried my name along with the last name, feeling the sound roll off my lips.

"..."

Nah, it didn't fit. My name was too long, unlike Mana's. I tried Maria's name with it. Maria Walker. It seemed to go well too. Maybe it was because both Maria's and Mana's names started with an 'm'. I contemplated this phenomenon. If Maria ended up marrying my brother, she would become a Walker too...I stopped my thoughts with a jolt, realizing what I was thinking of. I shook my head. Somehow, I didn't really want my brother to like Maria that way, even if I wanted them to be friends. However, upon closer inspection, there was almost no chance of that. I think Mana scared Maria. It must be because Mana didn't trust adults. Sister Maria seemed our age, but I think Mana thinks she's an adult. Mana had said that all adults were the same, but when we went to help her I'd already told her how my brother and I had got here and she listened to me and promised that she would keep us a secret, so I think she's different. That and she saved us from getting caught. I pondered this for a while.

When Mana woke up we ate. The sky had ceased raining and had settled to a cloudy sulk. Like the weather, Mana seemed to be sulking, and didn't eat much. He promptly laid down afterwards, staring blankly into space as I ate the rest. He seemed irritated. I frowned, anger sprouting inside me and taking root.

"You know, Mana, Maria isn't a bad person. Really, she isn't, even if she stutters when she's nervous. You shouldn't just judge her, you should get to know her first. And just because I'm friendly with her doesn't mean that you have to get all upset about it. Hey, are you listening? I can take care of myself, you know!" My voice got louder and louder. He didn't respond. Was he ignoring me? My frown deepened into a scowl. "If you're going to be that way, fine! I won't talk to Mana either!" I turned away from him, anger stinging my eyes. Just because I talk about Maria often doesn't mean that he can take out his anger on me. I wanted to be away from Mana. Mana was acting mean. I looked back at him again. He was sleeping. That made me even angrier. I turned to run, far far away.

To where?

A confused voice inside my head asked. Where would I run to? There was nowhere. No shelter, no warm place to call home. Who would I run to? There was no one except Mana. No one wanted me except my only brother. And now Mana is also...would this be my fault? I squinted as I tried to keep my eyes from raining tears.

"Blergh!...!" I whipped around at the noise. Mana, was lying in a pool of odiferous chemical, coughing. He had just vomited what he ate.

"Mana?" I asked fearfully. Mana was lying there, in his vomit, still coughing. I touched his face. He was burning. I dragged him away from his vomit, trying not to vomit myself as I moved him.

"C-cold..." Mana mumbled. I tried to remember when something like this had happened when we had stayed with Aunt and Uncle. I had gotten sick when I was six or so. What happened then? What happened so that I got better? I searched through my hazy memories. If I remembered, Mana was making a big fuss, Uncle was yelling that I would get better if I was let alone, and after much pleading Aunt finally had been convinced to get something, and made something hot for me to eat. Darnit! I hit my head with my hand. Of all the times I'm useless, why do I have to be so useless now? I looked back at Mana again. He was shivering now, coughing more than ever. I didn't have time. Who could help us? Who? It was at this moment I might have started to realize how utterly powerless I was.

Then, an inspiration dawned upon me. I grabbed my brother's arm, and tried my very best to haul him onto my back. He was heavy, and it took all of my power to hold him up. Because he was older, he was also taller, so his feet dragged on the ground as I half carried; half dragged him out from underneath the bridge. I placed my right foot in front of the left; left in front of right; my mind and body were occupied with just that.

I dragged Mana and myself through the winding alleyways of the city, trying to remember. Where did Mana turn to get there? How did he know where to turn and when to? I smiled mirthlessly. It all showed that I was too much of a child, relying on Mana altogether too much. I glanced at the sun; it was starting to sink beyond the tall buildings. Think! I remembered Mana telling me that the sun always set in...which was it? The East? Or the West? Which one? I choked back my tears. If Mana died, where would I go? Die? Would he die? Was it even possible that he, Mana Walker, my only older brother in the world, could die? My panicked thoughts jumbled together, making a monster that writhed within me. Did I cause this? Was it like how Aunt said? Was I bad? Was it because I'm bad that Mana's going to die? That's not it, right? Mana was always worried about me...was it why he's like this? Tears started leaking out from my panic-stricken eyes.

_Blink_. The monster, the fear, seemed to consume me._ Blink_. I kept blinking, trying to clear my eyes as I tried to keep a grasp on my brother. Where do I go? Which way do I turn? Was Mana going to die? I ignored the people watching me. I wanted to scream at them. Why are they watching? Why aren't they helping? Can't they see that Mana needs help? A sob broke out. Then another. I was slowly starting to lose my grip on Mana as I tried to keep walking, to keep walking forwards.

Then, I felt a hand. Mana struggled to get up, looking up blearily, mumbling. I struggled to keep him on my back.

"...why are...we on...ston...street...?...If..we..keep..going..we'll end up..a..t..." After a few moments he quieted down into sleep again. I looked ahead. It was the broken streetlamp that we rounded the corner to when I had first gotten the music book. Beyond there should be the Chapel or whatever. I sniffled, swallowing snot, taking step by step.

Forward. Onward.

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**I hope you enjoyed reading!**

**Note: Affrettando means in music 'in a hurrying or rushing manner; in the manner of pressing onwards'. **

**Please Review (If possible).**


	7. Act Six: Con calore

**Hello! Happy day (or night)!**

**To the anonymous reviewer: ****褒めてもらってとてもうれしいです。それで、アイデアがあるっておっしゃるにはどういうことですか？**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

**Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

My eyes snapped open. My head felt dizzy, nauseous. My eyes widened as I sprung up into sitting position. Where was I? I was in a bed with white linen in a modest room, light coming through a window. The walls were whitewashed, and by the bed there was a small table with a flower vase on it. I tried to remember what had happened. I remembered that I felt absolutely terrible, vomiting, then...after that, nothing. I didn't remember how I had got here, or where this place was. Where was my little brother? I still felt dull, heavy. I pulled off the sheets, gripping them with my hands as I did so. I willed my leaden feet to slip out, and touch the floor. I sat, my feet hovering above the ground as I surveyed myself. I was not dressed in the pants and shirt that I usually wore, but wore a clean shirt with slightly bigger pants. Who dressed me? I stood up, only to lose the strength in my legs. I clutched onto the bedside table, using it to stand again. It was as if my feet had become loose, and could support me no longer. I moved my hand, feeling wall, as I hobbled with my feet, leaning as I walked.

My body felt hot now, and my breath became harder. Why was I so tired? Where was I? What happened? More importantly, where was my little brother?

"Mana? What are you doing?" My little brother exclaimed as the door opened. He was also dressed in clean clothes. I looked at him blearily. That nun...Sister Maria, followed behind him. He put one of my arms over his shoulder, and led me over to the bed. Then he knelt by the bed, placing his arms and head on the bed and grinning.

"Hee hee, looks like you're alright." I was still too confused to answer. He noticed this. "You something- a cold, I think-" My little brother stole a look at Sister Maria. She nodded. "-and I got you over here, and Maria helped us out." 'Helped us out'. I inwardly groaned at his vague explanation.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, trying not to let the itch of irritation get the better of me as it bubbled within. How many people knew about us? Who did I have to answer to? What did he get himself into? I would have liked to spew all of these questions out, but as Sister Maria was in the room, it wasn't as if I could. He looked at me, eyes wide with innocence.

"What do you mean? I'm glad that you're alright." I sighed, and put a hand to my throbbing headache.

"I mean-" I sighed again. How do I ask him without seeming like I was accusing Sister Maria? Despite the fact that it would anger him if I did, I did have manners. A hand touched his shoulder. He looked up.

"What is it, Maria?" Sister Maria looked at him gently.

"I think your brother is tired, dear. Can you go help Sister Mildred in the next room?" My eyes automatically went to the door. Sister Mildred. Tch, another nun that knew about us. Even if Sister Maria had somehow managed to convince the Mother Superior, I doubted that we could escape the interrogation that would follow.

Once he had left the room, Sister Maria approached me. "Calm yourself, please. I merely told Sister Mildred, and she is the only other one who knows. She understands your situation, and has asked from Mother Superior my presence in the infirm under the request that she is in need of another hand. So you and your brother will remain a secret from the rest." I narrowed my eyes, although they were tearing up due to forcing them open despite my fatigue.

"What 'situation'?" I snapped.

"From what I understand from your brother, you would like to keep the knowledge of you two a secret, am I right?" She asked quietly, placing the bowl of broth she had been carrying upon the bedside table. I glared at her from the corner of my eye as she stirred it with a spoon.

"Why do you care?" I sneered. I asked this with the intention of telling her that it was none of her business. She seemed to have noticed.

"B-because the Lord has decreed that-" She answered, somewhat shaken, but I cut her off.

"So you would meddle in someone else's business because someone told you to? What an idiot." This statement only served to make her more flustered. I continued on with the air of stating the obvious, cold and monotonous. "Did you only help us so you could feel better about yourself, because you aren't really as sedate and stable as the other nuns are? Face it. No one does anything out of goodwill, always doing it with some gain for themselves." Her face darkened, and I wondered for a moment whether I had made her cry. When she raised her head again, her voice was very tiny, and she took breaths as she desperately continued.

"T-then is it not the same for you and your brother?" I snapped my head in her direction. "You protect your brother, so that you feel better as a brother, because he is your only brother. You do it so that h-he, can be happy, which would in turn makes you happy. Tell me, is that a bad thing? I-is it a selfish thing, to do good in order to make yourself happy? Is it not better to do good, e-even with ulterior motives, than doing nothing, or doing bad?" I stared at her for a while. I smiled wryly.

"Isn't that a bit contradictory to the teachings of a nun?" I asked. Perhaps I went too far. She looked up.

"P-perhaps."

"Hmph, whatever." If she was going to meddle, so be it. But if she does anything that could possibly endanger us, I'll get my little brother and I out before anything could happen. Sister Maria smiled, passing me the bowl after eating a spoonful of it.

"It seems like I've gotten you to trust me a bit." I scowled at her as I took it and ate.

"Don't kid yourself." She only smiled. How annoying. I ate in silence as she watched me with me ignoring her. Only when I finally finished eating and my eyelids started to droop did I finally get fed up with it.

"How long are you going to stare at me?" I turned my head. She seemed surprised at this.

"Well, I-" Her sentence was never to be finished, for at that moment the door opened, revealing my younger brother pushing an ancient woman who was in a wheelchair.

"Ma-na!" He said. "Don't bully Maria, ok? She helped you, you know." The woman in the wheelchair seemed to nod, and she pinched his arm. "Eh? What was that, Ms. Mildred?" She pointed at me, her face utterly disgusted. He nodded. He handed me a glass of a dark brown liquid. I smelled it, and the odor was disgusting. I raised my eyebrows.

"What is it?" I stared at the dark liquid once more. My little brother smiled.

"Its medicine that Ms. Mildred made, and it took a while to make too, so you'd better drink it! It'll make you feel a lot better!" Despite the fact that it was my little brother saying this, I doubted it. I looked at the dark liquid, and blanched a little.

"What are you doing?" The ancient woman...Sister Mildred, scolded. Her mouth was slightly upturned, giving her a froglike face. "Drink it, young man! Don't you want to get better? Drink it!"

"Sister Mildred..." Sister Maria smiled sympathetically to me. The elder Sister pursed her lips but kept on muttering occasionally things like "youngsters these days" and "medicine is good for you" all the while my brother stared at me. Pressured, I raised the glass to my lips. It tasted terrible, unlike anything I ever ate before. It made me want to throw up and gag, but I forced myself to finish it, and when I did there was a lingering acrid aftertaste. I laid down again, making a face. My brother looked at me from his position on the bed.

"How'd it taste Mana? Did it taste bad?" He asked innocently. I glared at him. Sister Maria laughed as Sister Mildred 'humph'ed. There was a peaceful pause as he happily nestled his head in the sheets of the bed.

"The sleeping herbs should start kicking in soon, so we should leave him alone to sleep, boy." Sister Mildred said finally, poking my brother with her finger. My little brother turned and nodded. They all filed out, one by one. He lingered a bit as he shut the door, saying,

"Get better, Mana." And then the sleeping herbs took over as I drifted to sleep.

* * *

**Hmm... maybe this is what people call a 'filler chapter'? Well anyway, I think that it's a pretty important part of the story.**

**Note: 'Con calore' means in music to play 'with warmth'.**

**Does this story make sense? Reviews would be greatly appreciated!**


	8. Act Seven: Andante

**Hi. Sorry about the slight late update. I have homework. :(**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

******Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

According to Ms. Mildred Mana's fever had been quite high, and so it was necessary to keep Mana in the infirmary with her for a few weeks. That meant that during the day I stayed hidden within the infirmary that Ms. Mildred presided over and helped her with Maria, who was there to help Ms. Mildred. Some nights, when Maria thought it was safe enough she took me to the Chapel to teach me the piano. I liked Maria. I think she is an exception from the rule Mana always said about adults. She keeps her promises. I trusted Ms. Mildred too. She was loyal in a funny way. When I helped out the chores inside the infirm, I talked to Maria and Ms. Mildred about a lot of things. Mainly Mana. However, I didn't show them my music score. That was for Mana and I alone. I also kept where we came from a secret. Mana told me a long time ago not to do that.

"...and you see, Mana got hurt. Isn't he a blockhead?" I laughed.

"Don't call your own brother a 'blockhead', dear, it's crude. Also, don't laugh about injuries. My goodness, what is the world coming to, when poor little children are no longer taught etiquette, why, in my day..." Ms. Mildred began on her usual rant. According to Maria, when Ms. Mildred was young and an active nun, she apparently did a lot of work with the poor, and so disapproved of the way that the convent closed themselves off to them. I found it amusing, because Ms. Mildred was the only person I ever met who didn't try and put up with the way things were; she openly questioned things about the world, and tried to change it, I guess. "...with the way things are, it would take years to undo. Maria, have you put the parsley up to dry? Good. And have you been properly teaching this child how to learn the piano?"

"Y-yes Sister Mildred." Maria said, wiping her hands on a towel. After we had dressed Mana in clean clothes Maria had tried to explain to me why nuns called each other Sister this and Sister that, but I didn't understand. I found it quite silly. Maria was around Mana's age, so I called her Maria. If I differentiated her from Mana, it would be unfair. Ms. Mildred was different. She was a lot older than me, so I couldn't call her my sister, and so I just called her Ms. Mildred, which was what Mana told me to call women who were not married. Ms. Mildred sniffed.

"In my day and age, if a child from the streets had touched the holy piano there would have been an uproar." She paused, as if contemplating. "Well, I suppose times have changed. The poor have to be educated _somehow_, I suppose." She sighed, contemplating that, then snapped back into reality. "And you," She said, pointing to me as I stirred the stew meant as dinners for the nuns. "Don't spill any of that on your clothes. I had your other clothes, or what was left of your clothes, get washed, and after that mended, so until then you have to keep those clean. Understand?" I nodded. When Maria had brought us to Ms. Mildred's the first thing Ms. Mildred did was give Mana and I new clothes. Her reasoning was that she couldn't have us 'dirtying the place up', but I think she did it because she pitied us. Mana said that people's pity was worthless, but in this case I think it was ok.

I liked this feeling, of being with people, having a place to stay. I stayed hidden in the infirm with Mana and Ms. Mildred in the day, as Maria had her nun duties during the day and some nights Maria would take me out to the chapel to learn the piano. It felt like Mana and I had a place to be, a ground that we could stand on without that much worry. I think it was because Mana didn't have to be the only one to take responsibility for me, so he didn't have that much stress. I giggled as I stirred the stew. Mana seemed like a different person now that he was sick; he was all dazy and spaced out a lot. I pointed this out to Ms. Mildred one day when we were drying dishes and she tsked.

"It's almost a good thing." She mused. I stared at her, confused.

"What do you mean?" She turned to me and sniffed.

"Your brother acts too much like an adult. Kids should act like kids." Ms. Mildred said. "If one of you youngsters become old at his age, then that would make the adults around him the most worthless adults around." I cocked my head at this. It was all very confusing. She frowned, and she shook the ladle at me, showering me with water specks. I blinked as the water hit me. She did not seem to have noticed.

"You see, when you become old, you start becoming stubborn, like me. But that's all right because I'm old enough to be that stubborn. However," She shook the ladle again. This time she had dried the ladle while she was talking so the amount of water that was showered to me was decreased. "If he at that age becomes stubborn and all that, he'll become a hermit and nothing good will come out of it." This time she shook her head as she put the ladle aside. I listened to her ramble as I took another plate. "People are people because a person needs love to survive. A person can't live by himself all his life without feeling depressed." There was a silence as I took in this information, putting the next plate in a cabinet. I kind of didn't understand it at all as I tried to make sense of the whole matter.

"So...it was a good thing that we met Maria and you." I said aloud. I got showered with water again as Ms. Mildred shook a frying pan in my face.

"Of course, you youngster. Good grief!" Ms. Mildred was scowling, but I was sure that underneath Ms. Mildred's scowl there was a smile. I was sure of it.

* * *

During the first week or so Ms. Mildred and Maria limited the number of times I visited Mana to one, saying that I could catch the cold. However, as two weeks passed I was able to visit him as long as I had free time. Mana was rather gaunt and tired, but he seemed to be getting better.

"Hey Mana," I said as I sat on the bed. Mana was reading a book that he found to keep himself from being bored.

"Mm?" He looked up.

"It's good that you got better. I was worried, you know." He smiled rather sheepishly.

"Sorry about that, lil' bro." He reached his hand out and patted my head. I pouted.

"Hey, stop that! I'm not a little kid, you know!" He laughed at this. I grew a little irritated, but tried to brush it off. There was a moment of silence, of tension, a feeling of something that was to come.

"Hey...Mana? Maria...and Ms. Mildred...they're really nice, you know? They're not bad...you know?" Mana's eyes focused back on his book, but I knew that he was thinking. I plowed on, a little scared at the lack of reaction, in a small voice. "Do we have to go away from them when you get better? Can't we just stay? I...like it here, Mana. Let's stay, please?" Mana was still looking at the book, unfocused, thinking. The silence that he created held tension that was so heavy it was suffocating. Mana's eyebrows were creased. He was thinking, and I could see the conflict in his eyes. He was arguing with himself on the odds. I watched him, unknowingly holding my breath. I clenched the almost worn out music score that I always kept with me. If he decides that he'll go, I'm going as well. He pursed his lips finally. A decision.

"We...still have some time before we decide that. I probably would have to stay here for... another two weeks or so, so during that time we can decide." Mana sounded slightly indecisive in stating this, hesitant. I nodded. So I wasn't the only person who wanted to stay. However, a week flew by as quickly as it had come, and Mana was finally able to be let out to see my piano lessons. Although I knew that it was bad to think so, I almost wished that Mana could become sick again so that we could continue to be here. I never wanted to leave.

* * *

**Note: Andante is a tempo, or the speed that a musician would play at. It is referred to as the 'Walking tempo', so it is relatively relaxed.**

**Thank you for reading.**


	9. Act Eight: Penseroso

_**Oh wow. I almost forgot to update this. -_-; this is what happens when homework comes into my life(It takes over). Anyways, enough of the author's boring personal life...**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**_

_**Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**_

_**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

* * *

_Plink-Plink. Plunk. _My little brother's fingers flew over multitudes of keys as I listened, head nodding. I pushed my ponytail back as I sat, deep in thought. Although we had decided to stay, this wasn't the ideal situation either. We were still currently 'under the protection' of Sister Maria and Sister Mildred. I trusted them without question, but if we were to be known by the whole convent there would be uproar. Even they may not be able to protect us then. I needed to come up with a plan, a way for us to be safe. I glanced over at my brother. Maybe they would allow him to be the pianist here. I shook my head. No, they would already have a pianist, and probably a concertmaster at that. Had we not been orphans it would have been a possible thing, but it was out of our reach. What else? We couldn't live our lives hiding within that infirmary forever.

_Plo-nk. Plink, plong!_ My brother finished off his song with a flourish. I clapped absently as Sister Maria went forward to tell him what she thought about his song. He'd been doing that a lot, making up new songs on the spot. He didn't put his songs in the strange fashion that he did the first time, but put it on the standard music paper that Sister Maria smuggled into the infirmary. Perhaps he could become a composer? No, the pianist or whoever would do that themselves. What would make us significant, what would make us be wanted at this convent? I fidgeted a bit, pulling at the ribbon on my shirt.

_Klang_.

"Whoops." I whipped my head around to face my little brother, who was looking at a golden vase on the altar that had fallen on the ground as he had been flailing about, giving grandeur bows to nonexistent audiences. Thankfully it hadn't broken, but it made a noise that echoed through the walls. Quickly Sister Maria and I tried to hide, but steps were already heard outside of the door, as if it were waiting for this moment. As much as we tried to move, to hide, it was as if we were frozen with fear. There was no time react.

"What is going on here?" A man came in, and Sister Maria's face became filled with fear. I darted over to my little brother, never taking my eyes off of the man. The man was well-fed, as he was slightly stout although he towered above us. The man also wore a white robe with a hat to match, with a silver cross around his neck and a book. A pastor. Perhaps a Father. His face froze as he saw Sister Maria. "Sister Maria? What is this? I was patrolling and thought burglars had come to steal the Lord's treasures, but what is this?"

"F-father Luke!" Sister Maria stuttered out. "Uh, this is...what I mean is...um..." Darn. I creased my eyebrows. Sister Maria was too nervous to answer. Father Luke smiled, and strode closer, putting a hand to Sister Maria's shoulder. I continued to glare at him. There was something wrong with that man, in the way which his expression changed from that of a forbidding tyrant to those of an angel.

"Sister Maria?" He said kindly. "Can you tell me what happened here?"

"This is my fault! These children had nothing to do with it!" Sister Maria blurted out.

"What is your fault? What happened?" Father Luke said gently. "Calm down and tell me, Sister Maria, and I can promise that these children won't come to any harm." Sister Maria relaxed. I tensed, ready to strike.

"I found these children just outside of the gates when I was gardening, and they were listening to Sister Helena and the choir practicing for Mass. They expressed interest in wanting to learn how to play the piano, so I offered, knowing that it would desecrate the piano. I'm truly sorry, but please, as the fault is my own, do not punish these children." She had been looking down as she had said all this, but after finishing, she looked up, as if looking for mercy in the Father's eyes. Father Luke smiled once again.

"Why of course, Sister Maria. Caring for the impoverished is one of the Church's teachings, you know that very well." A ray of hope dawned on Sister Maria's face. Father Luke coughed. I scowled. Although I was very well aware of who he was by this time, what gave him the right to call my little brother and I 'impoverished'? Unaware, he kept going on with his eloquent speech. "However, Mother Superior may not like the fact that 'street vagrants' are running around loose in the Chapel, so we'll keep this from her. You may come here to teach them at this hour as long as you do not neglect your day to day duties. I will make sure no one will come at this hour also."

"Th-thank you, Father!" Sister Maria's face radiated with joy.

"No no, it is all good and well. Now," He turned towards us. "Who are you two?" I glared up at him.

"Mana." I stated, relentlessly glaring. Father Luke smiled and shook my hand before moving on to talk to my little brother.

"But really, I'm glad that it was Father Luke who had found us." Sister Maria said, relieved.

"Sister Maria." I said, narrowing my eyes. Did she set us up? Noticing this change, she rectified her meaning quickly.

"No no, I don't mean that I wanted us to get caught, but it's good that Father Luke was the one that caught us. He is very trustworthy, and very understanding of others." I looked over to where Father Luke and my brother were conversing.

"...What's your name?" "...Oh, what a wonderful name!.." "...and your older brother is Mana?" "...ah, I see, you want to learn the piano?" I heard tidbits of their conversation. My little brother, who had looked glum over the past few months, was smiling.

"You can trust him." Sister Maria said with confidence. I answered her with a grunt. Truly, this was not a bad thing. With the influence of a Father, my brother and I would be able to stay here. We could do odd jobs for him and stay here. But what was this uneasiness?

* * *

The following day my little brother and I started to help Father Luke out, doing little chores for him and such. I never liked to talk with people very much, so when we helped him carry books from the library to his study, I just listened to the chatter between Father Luke and my brother.

"Oh my, what a hard life you've been living. For how long did you stay with Sister Mildred and Maria?"

"Uh, about three months." He glanced back at me. "Right, Mana?" I nodded curtly. Father Luke glanced at me.

"You're really close to your brother, aren't you?" He said conversationally. My little brother smiled.

"Yup! My brother's the most amazing older brother in the world! And if Maria was related to me she'd be the best sister in the world!" I let a smug little smile creep up my face.

"How about me, I wonder?" Father Luke said offhandedly, laughing. I snapped back into attention again.

"I don't know you, so I don't know." My little brother replied bluntly, picking a flower. The Father merely smiled. Perhaps I'm just getting paranoid about this, and there isn't anything. Sister Maria and Sister Mildred were good examples of that, after all. I looked at my little brother happily chatting away. Yes, it must be nothing. Nothing but me being paranoid.

* * *

**Note: 'Penseroso' means to play musically in a way that is meditative and thoughtful.**


	10. Act Nine: Accarezzévole

**Hello-! Ok, the full chapter has been put up. **

**Just a head's up, but the rating for the last half of this chapter is M (basically what makes this fic rated M). I take no responsibility if it ends up scarring people's minds.**

**Anyway, enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

******Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy! (I appreciate feedback)**

* * *

I think that life had never been so good. Mana and I just helped Father Luke now, and we could roam the convent as we pleased. Well, I guess that I just accompanied Father Luke a lot more than Mana, because Mana would be assigned to move heavier things and do other stuff. In the Father's study there were so many books, and when I was done with all my chores and the Father was done with his work he would read to me. Even though Father Luke was really strange sometimes, always calling me his son, he was all right. It was fun, and then I would go to eat with Ms. Mildred and Maria and Mana, and we would talk about the day. I was slowly getting used to this regular rhythm, this peacefulness.

"...it's a pity that you've never read this before, here, let me read to you." Father Luke said, motioning me to sit next to him.

"...I don't want to. Not today." I said as I sat on a chest that was up against a window, looking outside. Father Luke came over by me.

"Is there something you'd like to talk to me about, my son?" He asked kindly. I looked up at him.

"Not really. I'm just thinking." I went back to watching the garden where Mana was working.

"Are you worried about your brother?" He asked.

"No, Mana's all right. Even though he can be an idiot sometimes, he'll tell me if there's something wrong." I said absently. Father Luke moved some papers to his desk. Beneath it were some newspaper articles.

"Hey, Father Luke, what's that?" I asked, pointing to them. He looked to where I pointed. He looked benevolently at me, and took the papers. He leaned towards me, putting a hand on the chest that I used as a seat, and held the papers to me at eye-level.

"These, you see, are very sad cases that are going on at a certain place called Silent Island." He had my attention now. I looked up at him.

"What sad cases? Are people dying?" A lot of what I heard from Father Luke regarding his job was that people died. He smiled sadly.

"No. People there are resorting to the vulgar, the unthinkable. They are trying to mess with things that aren't to be trifled with. Do you know what that is, my son?" He pointed to a picture of a meadow with something burned upon it. It looked like a circular disk, designed with swirls and dashes. In the picture it stretched across the meadow. I shook my head.

"You see, my son. This is a pentacle, a pentacle of witchcraft. Witchcraft is a terrible thing that gives false hope to people that they can take care of themselves when they need to turn to The Lord. It also makes them arrogant, and so it is a great evil. Because it is so, we must punish them, and save them from the depths of hell while there is still hope for them. With the Lord's help we can save them, and He will save us." I looked at the pictures of the pentacles, fascinated.

"What do they do with it though?" I asked. The people that were shown, they were people, like my brother and I, who had been street rats. Mana had told me a long time ago that a tool is a tool, it could be bad or good depending on the person. So there must be some people who use this magic for good, isn't there?

"The most horrid things. Some make it so that they do not age, so that they would live eternally, to wickedly separate themselves from the rest..." Father Luke's face contorted into that of rage. I stared at him, a spark of unrest appearing within me. He noticed this, and smiled again. The small spark flickered and died. "Nothing good comes out of magic, my son, and to keep them from doing these evil doings, we must change them. Do you understand, my son?"

"What happens to them? Why do they do those things?" I asked, ignoring his question. I stared at the people taken away in chains. There was a woman there, a beautiful one, who was accused of using witchcraft to make herself beautiful. I read it, and it confused me. Where was the evidence? Unknowing to my thoughts, Father Luke leaned closer to me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"They will get their ultimate reward later. They do it because of the Enemy. The Enemy, who wishes all of humanity to be unhappy, to be in torture, in agony, and tries to lead people away from The Lord. He will try and lead you away, too, my son. Be wary, but do not be afraid. I will-"

_Kchak._ At this point in time the door opened, revealing Mana. My eyes brightened, and I ran to him.

"Mana!" He looked ahead at Father Luke, his expression calm and serious. I looked too. Father Luke was still leaned over the chest where I had sat seconds ago, but his face pointed to Mana. Mana spoke quietly.

"It is quite late, and dinner is becoming cold. Thank you, Father, for the care of my little brother. I will take him back with me." He took my hand to leave. I did not really want to, but I also wanted to talk to Maria and Ms. Mildred, so I took his hand.

"Ah, if it's the problem of dinner I can ask one of the Sisters to bring dinner for him up here in addition to mine." Father Luke offered. Mana looked back, his face emotionless.

"Thank you very much for your offer Father, but Sister Maria and Sister Mildred are worried for him, and I'd rather not impose upon you further. Good night." He then shut the door. We walked in silence.

"...Mana?" I asked, concerned. Was he angry? "Father Luke can act up sometimes, but he's all right." Mana did not answer my underlying question, but answered with a question of his own.

"Why are you calling him Father? You don't call Sister Maria and Sister Mildred by their titles." He said it quietly, and I couldn't tell whether he was angry or just curious.

"He asked me to." This was true. Father Luke had asked me to call him that the first time we met. Maria and Ms. Mildred didn't say anything about what I called them, so I assumed that it was all right to call them that. Mana didn't say anything to that.

"Don't stay out this late again." He said, tired. I looked at him. Had he been looking for me?

"Ok." I said, holding tightly to his hand.

For the next few days I hung around Mana and didn't go to Father Luke's. I thought that Mana needed time to stop worrying, so I helped him with his work. Mana was happy at this, and I could tell that working with other people unsettled him. Maybe it was because he was used to people being apathetic; he was wary around others, and I think that that made him more tired than necessary. I think that he was more comfortable around me, and I took pride in this. I still had yet to tell Mana about the witchcraft thing, but I pushed it to the back of my mind as I started to run.

"You can't catch me!" I called as I sprinted in front of him.

"Hey, you're going to trip and fall! And aren't you getting a little too old for this? You're ten years old, you know!" Mana called. I turned my head, still running. He was laughing with glee at my foolishness. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Blehhh-aaaahh!" My mocking face turned into one of surprise as I tripped on a rock and fell. I heard my brother call my name as I crashed into the gravel below, effectively hitting my torso onto the concrete path that led to the infirmary. A few moments later I was in there, being lectured by Ms. Mildred.

"Now see, you young whippersnapper, thinking you're all that, you've gone and hurt yourself! What on earth are you thinking, hurting this healthy body that the Lord himself gave you! Honestly! Be glad that you got away with a few scratches! Good grief!" Ms. Mildred muttered as she applied the saltwater in the scratch on my chest. I winced. "You'll likely get a lot of bruises later, so prepare yourself!" Mana slid in the room as Ms. Mildred left to nag Maria about something.

"I told you." Mana sighed. I pouted at him, but realized that he was laughing. As his laughter escalated, I jokingly frowned, and yelled out.

"Hey! Show some concern here! Your one and only brother just got hurt!" This only served to draw more hilarity from Mana. The laughter served to drown out the ponderings I was going to tell Mana about that I had the other day, about the witchcraft. And the lady accused of using it.

* * *

"But really, Sister Mildred was right, wasn't she? You do have a lot of bruises." Maria said as she looked at me. True to Ms. Mildred's words, the next day my face and my arms were covered with bruises. We were going to practice piano in the Chapel, something we hadn't done in a while.

"Hey, where's Mana?" I asked, looking. He had promised to come.

"He must've received another errand to do. Sister Gwendolyn was always such a hard taskmaster." Maria giggled. "But he should come." I nodded, when Maria stopped with a little 'oh'. I looked at her.

"Sorry, but go on ahead of me, okay?" Maria said. "I forgot the book with the music. I'll go get it." And so she ran. I smiled. Maria was always so forgetful when she was excited. I guess that's why Mana grew to trust her. I thought about that night when Mana got sick, when I was thinking about Mana and Maria getting married. I guess I wouldn't mind that happening now. I hummed a tune to myself as I walked.

_Creak._ I opened the Chapel door. To my surprise, there was someone else there, kneeling at the altar.

"Hello, Father Luke." I called out. He looked up, smiling.

"Why, my son, what are you doing here?" He put a hand to my head as I ran close to him.

"I'm here to practice the piano!" I said cheerily. His smile widened.

"Is that so? Well then-" He looked at my arm, seeing the bruises. His face turned into a face of worry. "What happened?" I looked to where he was looking.

"Oh, I tripped and fell." His lips turned into a hard, thin line.

"That's what they all say." He muttered, then leaned over and put his hands on my shoulders, his eyes boring into me. It was intimidating, so I looked away. "Your brother did this, didn't he?" My eyes widened in surprise.

"n-No, what're you talking about?" The grip on my shoulders tightened.

"He did, didn't he?" Father Luke roared. I was frightened. What happened? He started to mumble to himself, his face so close to mine that I could feel his breath. A feeling of nausea started to grow within me. "I thought you two were merely-I cannot believe-I shall make sure-" He ripped open my shirt, revealing the scratches and bruises I'd gotten from falling. The purple bruises showed up angrily against my white skin.

"w-What're you-?" I whimpered as he drew back and looked at my chest. I didn't like this. What was happening? His hands, his wrinkly hands, started to roam up my chest. "Stop it!" I tried to pry his hands away, but he merely kept on tracing the bruises. He looked at my face again.

"Your brother, he did this, didn't he?" The hands kept touching my chest, putting his fingers on my nipples.

"What're you-Ow! Stop it!" He had pinched one of them, pulling on it. I could feel his eyes on me, his breath on my chest. It felt gross. It felt disgusting. Stop it. Stop.

"Your brother stained your innocence with his vulgar ways-such incestuous-I must purify you-understand?" What was he talking about? I don't understand...

"Get away from me!" I screamed, kicking as much as I could. He suddenly swooped down to me and kissed me. His tongue explored my mouth, and thrust into it. I gagged as I tried to push his tongue out with my own. He gave a grunt. I pulled his hair, trying to get him away from me. Stop it. I don't know what's happening. He pulled my pants down, underwear as well. I punched his head, but he only took the fist with his wrinkly hands and caressed it. I felt like throwing up. Mana. Where's Mana? Help me.

"Stop it! Stop!" I yelled as he looked at my private area, the part where it really hurt if something hit it. His eyes were glassy as it looked upon it. I was crying at this point. Just stop already. He proceeded to touch it.

"..so innocent. You haven't even hit puberty yet..." His wrinkly hands were gross. Stop. STOP. He pinched it. I let out a cry. It hurt. It really hurt.

"..and yet you're feeling the passion, so if.." He kept muttering. _Smack._ Suddenly, a music book was hurled at his head, hitting it. I turned, and Ms. Mildred was in the chapel, wheeling in with her wheelchair, looking scandalized. She must have noticed that Maria had forgotten the music book.

"Father Luke! What on earth are you doing to that boy? Stop it this instant!" Father Luke looked up, his face changing to one of kindness. Totally different from what it was before. I looked at Ms. Mildred. Help. Get me away from him. Take me back to Mana.

"My, Sister Mildred, this is all just a misunderstanding. He just told me that his chest hurt, and I was taking a look at it. He wanted me to pray for him as well so-"

"_Don't you dare take me as a fool!_" Ms. Mildred cut him off shrilly. "_I saw what you were doing to that boy! You were enjoying it! A fine example of a priest you are! You are not fit to wear those clothes! How dare you! Get away from him this instant!_" The kind smile was wiped off Father Luke's face as he heard these words, replaced by a hard mask. He went towards her, his lips a hard line. My eyes widened in horror.

"No! Ms. Mildred, get away! Run!" I tried to scramble up, to keep that man from hurting her as well.

"What are you going to do, you monster?" Ms. Mildred said, her voice challenging and sharp. "Are you going to rape up this old crippled woman as well, you sick pervert?" She spat. He loomed over her, and grabbed her head with his hands, lifting her off her wheelchair, and swung her towards the wall. Her head hit the wall with a sickening _crunch_. For a moment Ms. Mildred's finger lifted and then she didn't move.

"Ms. Mildred!" I screamed.

"Stupid woman..." He mumbled. Then he came back over to me. No. Stop. Get away from me.

"Murderer!" I screamed. "Get away from me!" His hand reached for me as I edged away, frozen in fear. His hands started to roam around my body again, caressing me. Disgusting. Disgusting. Help. Help.

"Someone, help..." I cried aloud, even as he said disgustingly soothing remarks about no one coming. Help. Mana. My cries kept getting softer and softer. Help...help...help... help...

* * *

**Note: Accarezzévole means 'expressive and caressing'. **

**I will be taking a break from writing for a bit. You can probably expect updates to be sometime late October.**


	11. Act Ten: Furia

**Hi, sorry for the delay. To make up for it, there are TWO (not one!) chapters this week, and from there I will regularly post a chapter every week as it were. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

******Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I was late. Father Luke had given me chores under Sister Gwendolyn, and she was not one to let people off easily in terms of work. However, I'd gotten everything done, and I was going to the Chapel. My little brother will scold, I'm sure. I stifled a smile. He seemed happy these days. I saw Maria go back for the music book, but I was sure that he'd be playing the piano even without a book. The door was open wide, and when I looked in my half smile wiped away.

"Help...no...stop..."

"Shh...shh...no one's going to come, so relax..."

Father Luke was bending over a figure who was resisting. My little brother. Anger welled within me, like an unstoppable volcano. What the _hell_ was that bastard doing? To my brother, of all people. HE WILL PAY. I quietly walked towards him. Caught up in...that, he did not notice me coming.

I punched him square in the jaw. He looked up, only to be met with my other fist. I was crouched in a fighting stance. I kicked him in the stomach, taking him by surprise and shoving him away from my brother. I looked at my brother. Fear was embedded within him, and his clothes were torn off. Disgusting. Perverted. Paedophile. How dare he. I ran and attacked him once again, punching him.

"YOU BASTARD!" I yelled, punching him right and left. I wanted to kill this monster. Make him disappear from the face of the earth. Make him die the most painful way ever. The back of my eyes were seeing red. I didn't have the element of surprise anymore, and the bastard was starting to block, but as long as I kept on the offensive, he will tire out. I will break him down. I will kill him, right here, right now. I will make him beg for mercy. Everything else was drowned out as I kept punching, kicking with full force. I did not even notice the voices that were ongoing due to my hatred, my rage.

"YOU SICK, PERVERTED PAEDOPHILE!"

"Oh my! Someone, help! Quick!" _Punch. Kick. Punch._ I shoved him into the altar, and kept on going. Any letting up would mean that I would have to defend. I kicked the bastard again, sending him to the ground.

"...no! Stop! Stop!" I was upon him, my hand around his neck. I punched with my other hand, kicking him in the groin. There was something restricting me, keeping me from punching him. I ripped my arm away from the restraint, hell-bent on mutilating the man in front of me. Then the restraint increased, tearing me away from the bastard.

"LET GO OF ME!" I yelled, turning and punching. "I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" I kept on punching and kicking when a hand grabbed mine.

"..." I heard my little brother's voice. I turned to face him. He had a blanket about him now. The world seemed white and desolate, only him and I alone as I froze. Then I was swallowed into a storm as people rushed to subdue me while they had the chance. Blackness.

* * *

There is a mask, one that I see people use a lot. To hide, to make themselves seem stronger. I've seen Mana wear it all the time. I don't think I've ever donned it before. I wonder why. Was it because of Mana?

* * *

"...are you okay?" Maria asked me for what was the tenth time as she reached to pat my head. I recoiled from her touch. I was back in the infirmary. Ms. Mildred was dead. They'd taken Mana away. No, everything was not alright. After Mana had been subdued, the Mother Superior came out and demanded an explanation of Father Luke, who was being bandaged from Mana's rampage.

"Well you see, Mother Superior, this boy," He had pointed at Mana, "Suddenly flew into a rage at me." His puffed up face turned to that of pity. Revulsion gripped me. "He must've had some mental problems. And his little brother," He motioned to me. I flinched. No. He wasn't telling the truth. He was making Mana seem bad. Mana never had any mental problems. "Tried to calm him down, but only ended up getting hurt, and Sister Mildred-" He looked very aggrieved as he looked at the figure, which had been covered with a cloth. "Also tried to calm him, but he took her head and bashed it against the wall. I-I tried to stop him, but it was too late." He resumed the look of an innocent. Liar. You killed her.

"You liar!" I had screamed then. "You were the one that tried to do something to me! You were the one who killed-"

"My my," He'd cut in, laughing. "Mother Superior, I think this child needs some rest. He's been through a lot."

"Liar!" I'd screeched back.

_Slap._ One of the nuns had slapped me. Sister Maria. Her face had been contorted into a frown.

"Don't you dare call Father Luke a liar." She had said firmly. "Come now. You're tired. You are going to the infirm." My mind dizzy from the slap, she took my hand and led me away to where I was now. I huddled up on the windowsill in the infirmary and glanced at Sister Maria, who was looking at me expectantly. I looked away again. So I was wrong. She wasn't Mana or my ally. Ms. Mildred had been our only ally, and she was gone now. She wouldn't believe me.

Mana wasn't here now to protect me. I put the mask on.

"Yes, I'm fine, Sister Maria."

* * *

**Note: Furia means fury (or to play furiously).**

**Please Review!**

**And Happy Haloween!**


	12. Act Eleven: Col Pugno

**:)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

******Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

When I woke up the next day, no one was in the infirmary. I looked around, but there was no Maria. Mana wasn't back yet either. It took me a while to take in what had happened. The emptiness was suffocating. Ms. Mildred was dead. Mana was taken away. That..that man...tried to do something, and killed Ms. Mildred. He locked Mana away. Tears of anger threatened to spill down my cheeks. Where did they take Mana? I wanted him back. We'll leave this place and be happy again. Where was Maria? Even if she wasn't our ally anymore, she would have information on the whereabouts of Mana. I looked some more, and found a note on the counter where Ms. Mildred and I used to cook. A tear trickled down my cheek. The note was from Maria, and there were splotches on it.

_I'm sorry, I can't stay here anymore. I'm not fit to._

What was that supposed to mean? Anger burst out of me as I crumpled the note up. Did she run away? Did she abandon us? I ran outside, slamming the door. I wanted Ms. Mildred. Now. At least her practical thinking was more helpful than Maria's flighty attitude. But she was gone. Tears stung my eyes. I needed Mana now. Where was Maria? I ran outside, looking for someone. Anyone. There was a nun with two thick braids spilling out of her habit.

"Hey!" I called, running to her. She was also about Maria's age. "Miss!" I tugged on her habit, gaining her attention. She looked at me with disdain. "What happened to Ma-Sister Maria?" She sniffed, flicking her braid back.

"Oh, Sister Maria? Do not talk to me of her." She said this in the tone of someone who knew a secret. I frowned.

"What happened?" I asked, winking. I wanted to scream at her for being difficult. I was so angry and distraught I think that the raging fire inside of me could've killed a whole forest and more, but I tried to remain calm. Wear the mask. I needed to find Mana. "Tell me!" She sighed, then said conspiratorially,

"Well you see, Sister Maria was actually doing indecent and immoral things with the older one of the brothers who she was taking care of with the now deceased Sister Mildred, may God bless her. They said that she confessed all to Father Luke yesterday, and so they've decided to excommunicate her." What was that?

"What's that?" I asked. She giggled, and leaned in to tap my nose. I flinched from the touch, but she didn't notice.

"We-ell," She drew the e out as she put a finger to her lips. Irritation bubbled within like magma, threatening to consume me at her patronizing tone. "You see, little boy, excommunication means that you are a disgrace to the Church, and that you are cut off forever. Or something like that. Sister Maria was basically a whore." She resumed prancing about as she kept spitting out random bits of gossip. I frowned. I heard that word before, but I didn't know what it meant. I knitted my brows together. My brother never did anything bad with Sister Maria.

"How'd they find out?" I asked. She stopped prancing to think.

"Oh, well, you see, Sister Maria apparently asked to be excommunicated as she confessed to Father Luke because she was so ashamed of herself. Fancy that." Again. It's him. Fury blossomed like a flower.

"And what's going to happen to Ma-the boy who attacked F-Father Luke?" I had difficulty saying that name. The thought of him, his name, reminded me of yesterday, him bending over me, touching places that he shouldn't be touching. It made me scared, scared to the point where I felt as if he could find me and do something again. What made me even more scared was that I didn't know what he was going to do to me, and I knew he was trying to do _something._ I tried to think of something else. Mana. Must focus on Mana.

"Him? Oh, that rather handsome looking boy? Pity he has a mental illness. Well, Father Luke tried to appeal to the courts, being the kind and forgiving person he is on account to his mental illness," As she said his name an admiring shine came into her eyes. I wanted to take it out from them and destroy it. My mouth was set to a fine line. "But seeing as he also defiled Sister Maria and killed Sister Mildred, I guess the courts wouldn't allow it. He's going to be stoned to death as punishment. It's really a pity. He had such a pretty face." She stopped with her rambling for a second. "By the way, who are you? Outsiders aren't supposed to be in here." But I was gone, long before she asked.

* * *

I was running. Running to anywhere. Anywhere. Anywhere but here. Mana was going to get killed. What was I going to do? What could I do? I remembered when Ms. Mildred was killed. One moment she was alive, and then- I remembered the noise that her head made when she hit the wall-_crack._ And she was dead. I couldn't do anything. Not one thing as her life was snuffed out in that instant.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaghh!" I screamed. I was in the middle of a meadow, in the middle of nowhere, screaming my heart out. Was Mana going to end up like that too? Limp and lifeless, never to talk or laugh with me again? It's not even his fault! It's all.. _It's all _his_ fault! _All his.._._He tried to hurt me, he killed Ms. Mildred, he lied about Maria, he's going to kill Mana, and EVERYONE BELIEVES HIS LIES! I gritted my teeth, biting my cheek until it bled, drops of red staining the grass.

That bastard! That hypocrite! THAT MURDERER!

"Kuu...a...ahahaha...ha..hahahaha..." I put a hand on my head, laughing.

What about condemning witchcraft? What about saying that we must save them from the depths of hell? What about 'purifying' me? I didn't need to be 'purified', if that was his definition of hurting me._ How dare he!_ What about 'saving'? Murderer! LIAR! What about saying that God will save our lives? Is he the kind of people God saves?

IF SO, THEN 'GOD' IS A DEVIL.

* * *

Blackness. Images flashed through my mind. I held no concept of time, just numbness and apathy. Boys, younger than me, being molested by their pastors, priests, people they trust. Children being abused and beaten by their parents and siblings, with harsh words and threats, only to grow up and repeat that cycle to their children. The mutilation of people, other humans massacring others for the sole reason of arrogance, clinging to reasons made up of lies and conceit. The people walking leisurely around, monsters within them, with each one more grotesque, more horrid, more obscene than the one before. The whiteness of their monstrosity against the blackness of the night, hiding their immoral activities, while in the whiteness of day the blackness of their slander are to be concealed. The colours misused, the tones discordant, monsters and sorrow everywhere. The true face of the world.

Then a white light, one with wings. Innocence.

_If you are truly 'innocence', why do you side with that priest? That priest, who hurts others and lies with that mouth that ordered so much blood to be spilled?_ I ask calmly. A voice answers from above.

_It was not ordained. Forgive. _I frowned, sneering.

_Such a pathetic, miserable excuse._ I reached forward, grabbing the Innocence, crushing one of its wings. In the place of it, there was a human arm.

Disgusting. Contradictory. Innocence. Self-preserving, claiming to save. If it was here, why didn't it help? Why wasn't it there? It's on his side. How dare you. How dare you. Forgive? Don't forgive it. Do not forgive them. I won't. I won't forgive it.

* * *

"Are you okay?" A voice floated into my dream. I opened a sliver of my eyes. A woman in a nun's attire bent over me, her long braids spilling out. She fluttered her eyes coquettishly. Ah. I searched my mind for who this could be. I see, she is the nun I'd talked to in what seemed like eons ago. I closed my eyes again, humming a tune. A pentacle laced itself together on her forehead, and she shattered, turning to dust.

My eyes fully opened almost as if for the first time. The world was the same, same as I had seen it while asleep for thousands of years. I sat up and put my elbow on my knee casually. Besides me stood a rather fat clown that I had seen, once upon a time, at a carnival that could very well have been a dream.

"Good morning, Duke Millennium."

* * *

**Note: Col pugno is the music terminology for the musician to bang the piano keys with his fist.**

**Review Please!**


	13. Interlude

**:) Hehehe, Hi! And so...the Noahs appear!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

******Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"So that is the Fourteenth?" A young girl looked up at the clown. "He was rather odd, wasn't he?"

"Hmm. Yeah, I agree with the master!" A youth with five eyes agreed with the girl. A rather handsome youth with short wavy hair looked up at the clown.

"Earl, was the Fourteenth like that before in the last reincarnation?" The Millennium Earl looked in the direction where his newfound Noah had run off to.

"Hmm...Maybe." He then cocked his head as his subordinate Noahs looked at him quizzically. "Actually...I don't even remember if a Fourteenth Noah existed 3." He said as he put a finger to his abnormal teeth. His three subordinate Noah stared at him, their eyes open wide, as they whipped their direction that the fourteenth member of their family sped off to.

* * *

When I woke up, I was in a prison. My head hurt. What had happened? I gasped. That was right. Anger instantly flared. That...that _monster_, that _perverted paedophile_, that_ despicable lowlife _had dared, _dared_, to touch my brother. Where is he? I looked around. Where is my little brother? Did that bastard take him away and do something to him? If he did so I will kill him. I'll make him wish he had never been born. My eyes were open, filled with rage. Now, how to get out of here. I had to get my brother back from the clutches of that bastard. I went towards the door, looking for guards. There was one, snoring with a bottle in his hand. However, the doors were made of iron and it seemed that it was double locked from the outside. The window was only as big as one of my hands, letting the barest amount of light in.

I sat back down again. Fine then. I'll wait until they come to take me to kill me and I'll fight my way out. Anything to get my brother back. I closed my eyes, gritting my teeth. _Dammit! _While I'm sitting here, doing nothing, my brother could be getting raped up by that bastard or...worse! I punched the wall I leaned on with my fist in anger and desperation. The force of it tore my skin and blood seeped down my arm, but I didn't care. What was I going to do? My only brother... I put my head in my hands, waiting for what seemed like ages. Time seemed to flow slowly, as if the sand in the hourglass had clogged in the middle. I was lost within the flow. Dammit. I felt so useless, so stupid. It was a torturous silence of inactivity. I felt like I was choking within that nothingness.

Then a _Rrumble._ What was that? There was a lot of screaming. I pressed my ear to the door "Aaaaagg-" "What is that-ahhh!" It was close. I backed away from the door. Something was coming. I prepared myself, but nothing would have prepared me to hear the voice that I heard.

"Mana? Get away from the window, okay? I'm going to get you out."

It was my little brother. How? What happened? I did as he asked, backing away as much as I could. I watched, astounded, as a footprint appeared on the steel door, pushing inwards, stretching the steel. The door bent, and fell down. Standing in the doorway, with his leg outstretched, was my little brother.

"What the.." I gaped. He smiled. He wore a cloak, which he placed around me as he hugged me. I hadn't noticed that he had grown this tall, almost as tall as I was, while in the convent. He was also... different, somehow, but I couldn't quite put my finger to it. Was his skin always this pale and grayish? Was his hair always this striking black?

"You're okay now, Mana. I'll take care of you. I have friends now that can help us." Normally at this I would have become alert, but at this moment I was too shocked to contemplate the matter. I followed him out the door, where there was a rather large monster waiting, saluting my brother. It moved forward, but my little brother put a hand in front of me, as if shielding me.

"Noah-sama, this human..." The being said in a guttural, unnatural voice. My brother replied instantly in a cool voice, smiling.

"Hmm? Harm him in any way and you die." Although light, his voice was menacing. What had happened to my brother? I looked at him, concerned. He looked back at me, extended his hand to me as he leapt on the being and said, with his expression hearty,

"Come on, Mana. There are many places to see in the world, after all." I had to smile. It was a phrase that I had told him when we were children, when we were playing make believe that we were on a hot air balloon. We were still the same. My brother was still my brother. I was still Mana Walker. We will be all right. I took his hand.

"Yeah, that's true."

* * *

The being rose into the air with us on its shoulder, overlooking the city. It had broken through the ceiling of the prison. I did not voice my confusion at this being, or at any of the bizarre things that had happened. My brother will explain it to me in due time. It hovered for a moment as my little brother looked at the city with a calculating, cool gaze.

"What do you think, Master Noah?" My brother came out of his reverie. He then smiled as he closed his eyes.

"Nothing. Let it be for a while. I don't think that it's part of the Earl's 'scenario' yet, don't you think?" He tapped his fingers on the being as he said this, almost singing.

"Ha?" The being cocked his head in confusion. I wanted to mirror that motion. Earl? Curiosity was bubbling within me, as well as wariness. What kind of shady deal did my brother take part in? My little brother poked the being, laughing.

"Just go in that direction." He pointed.

"Understood." And without further ado the being ripped through the air in the pointed direction. My little brother languidly looked over at me, his expression relaxed.

"Hey Mana, do you want to visit that perverted preacher?" He was laughing, but his eyes said otherwise. They were cold, like steel. I understood his sentiment.

"Sure. We have a score to settle." I gritted my teeth. Over the being's head he reached and held my hand reassuringly.

"Akuma, stop here." He called out when we had come to the roof of the convent. The being instantly did so. Akuma. So that's what it was called. A...devil? I looked at it as my little brother pried the topmost part of the roof off. He then looked at the 'Akuma'.

"Go tell the Earl that I'll meet him there." Hearing that the Akuma left. Then, at me, "Come on Mana." He slid in through the hole. I followed after. The paedophile's room was the same as ever, with its books and stacks of paper. My little brother picked up sheets of paper and chuckled darkly. I looked at him, concerned.

"Are you all right?" He looked at me, his expression sardonic and yet careless. He didn't answer. I became frightened, and I touched his shoulder. He flinched, then calmed down. My eyes widened.

"Did he...that bastard...hurt you?" I said carefully as I screamed in my heart. Oh dear God, no. Do not tell me that my brother, who I tried to protect from the world, has been hurt by that bastard. My brother, who probably didn't even understand what was happening to him as it happened. I cursed myself. I had sheltered him too much, perhaps. Caught up in my worries, I did not notice my little brother's hands reach up and grab my cheeks, pulling them. I looked at him in surprise.

"Hm, maybe." His face was cast down, hidden from my eyes. I only saw the drop of sweat coming from his forehead and his almost forced smile. All of a sudden, he looked up at the door, turning toward it. His face turned into that of wicked glee.

"He's here, Mana." I whipped towards the door as well, glaring at it. Beyond the door was that man. That man, who dared to hurt my little brother. I bared my teeth. The door opened, revealing that stout figure, that habit, that man, looking normal. I gritted my teeth. How _dare_ he act so _normally_ when he caused so much ruin in our lives. My eyes automatically narrowed. His eyes focused on my brother, becoming wide with happiness. I wanted to retch as I noticed that a tint of a blush had appeared on his cheeks.

I started to stride forward. I wanted to tear out his eyes, so that my brother would never have to suffer him again. However, I was stopped by my little brother's hand. I looked at him quizzically.

"I'll take care of it." He whispered. "He's not worth staining your hands." Just as I was going to say those words back at him, he reassured me, saying, "Don't worry, I won't kill him." I nodded. He seemed to have a plan. My brother put on a sickening smile and strode forward, his arms wide. He seemed to grow younger, more childlike, innocent.

" Hello Father Luke!" He said joyfully, that smile shining so much that it was eerie. Father Luke looked bewildered. His eyes feasted on my brother, noticing nothing else, taking in every bit of him. I wanted to tear out his gizzards. But I waited.

"Why, my son. Are you okay? Out and about already?" His hand caressed my little brother's cheek, trailing his hair that stood up. The bastard leaned over, putting his face right in my brother's. "Did you come to visit me?" He whispered in a low voice. I was shaking with anger. I couldn't take it anymore. My brother should not have to endure this anymore. At this moment the smile on my little brother turned into an evil smirk, sinister and dangerous.

"Yes, Father Luke," He said, his voice sweet, malevolence shadowing it. He put his hands on the bastard's cheeks. The bastard was surprised, his face brightening as his hands moved to do something. But he never got the chance. My little brother, with the vice grip that he had on the perverted priest's head, smashed the bastard's head into his knee, which he slammed up to meet it with deadly precision. As the bastard fell to the floor, my little brother placed his foot on his head, keeping his nose against the ground. He made sure not to kill him, however, for I could see that the bastard's chest still heaved up and down. He then turned around.

"Road," He smiled. "I have a present for you." I looked for who he could be talking to when I saw a girl materialize from the nearby window. She was young, a little younger than my little brother, and although she wore a blouse and skirt her short, spiky hair gave her a boyish look. An umbrella was slung over her back, and she had a pout on her face.

"Aww, you noticed?" She looked at my little brother, smirking. The priest groaned, but both of them ignored it. "When?"

"Ever since you started following us at the prison, Road. Was the Earl that worried about me?" He said, almost ponderously. The girl, or Road, ignored his question.

"Who's _he_?" Road pointed with her umbrella at me. The umbrella had a pumpkin on the end of it, with a face. I looked back at her. There was something about her that told me that she was dangerous. My little brother merely smiled.

"He's my pet." His eyes, which had been closed due to his smiling, opened in silent threat. "So I might cause a tantrum if you happen to harm him in any way." Road stopped smiling and put her umbrella up.

"Fu-un." She said, bored. She looked at the priest. "And what's he?"

"Well," He arched his eyebrow. "As I've said, I have a present for you." He smiled as he applied more pressure on the priest's head upon hearing more moans. "Do you want it?" Road squatted down and looked at him, analyzing the priest.

"Nooo Road-tama, you cannot! You cannot-" I flinched as the pumpkin on the umbrella suddenly burst to life, screaming protests. Road disregarded it until the protests increased in volume.

"Shut up, umbrella." She smacked it against the ground. She looked up at my little brother. "I don't see any worth in him." She wrinkled her nose in disdain. "Why would you want to give him to me?" He closed his eyes.

"What if I happened to tell you that I will give you a year's worth of candy? You saw, didn't you?" He opened his eyes, eyes tranquilly gazing at her. The priest, in his pain, used one of his hands to grab her leg. Her smile fell to be replaced by a grin.

"Oh, is that so?" She stuck out her tongue, kicking the priest's hand off and smashing it against the ground. "Fine." She paused. "I'm assuming that there are strings attached to this one as well?" My brother merely smiled.

"Of course." He beamed. "After all, this is a toy to be played with. Play with him as much as your heart desires. And don't get rid of him so easily either." She glanced at him.

"Fine." Road said once more. "But you owe me in more ways than one, cousin." I snapped into alertness at this. When did we have a cousin? I calmed myself down, reassuring myself that my little brother will explain it to me later. I watched as Road, with Herculean strength, took the priest by his head, and threw him into a checkered door that had seemed to magically appear. In an instant he was swallowed up.

* * *

"So now what are you going to do?" Road asked. "Not to start sounding like the umbrella here," She nodded at it. "But killing off a priest isn't in the Duke's plan." At this my little brother laughed, kidlike.

"You mean the Earl's scenario?" He giggled. "If there's no evidence, it wouldn't have existed." He upturned a candle that was on top of the desk. The flame licked the papers in the study, spreading.

"Right." Road also smiled evilly. "Come cousin." She beckoned towards the door the priest was swallowed into moments ago. My little brother grabbed my hand and steered me in as he also followed Road in.

* * *

**Note: Interlude is a song that is played in between the acts of a play, usually background music to carry over or change the mood from one scene to another.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	14. Intermezzo

**Gahh! I'm sorry for the delay! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

******Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Not bad, if I says so myself." I looked at the burning convent. We had finally gotten out of Road's world of dreams and space, filled with red and black checkered floors and huge pumpkins.

"I snuck an Akuma in, breaking anything that could inform outsiders of the fire-" Road started.

"-and you also positioned an Akuma outside so any humans that tried to escape would die." I finished. "Now all that's left is to position some Akuma within the town and convince people that a convent never existed here." She smirked.

"You know, I think I like you Fourteenth." She said teasingly. I swung my hands into a grandiose bow.

"I'm honoured, Lady Road." Despite my foolery, I still held tightly to Mana's hand. Mana looked like he knew what was going on, but I knew he was confused, and for that I felt guilty. I squeezed his hands in reassurance. Just a little more, Mana. I'll explain everything to you soon.

* * *

The convent burned until all was left was ashes. Akuma came out of them, Level 2 Akumas. Road ordered them to hide within the town and do as we planned them to. That should destroy any evidence of the massacre. I sat down to revel in what had happened, to let it sink in.

"My dear Fourteenth, have you been enjoying your freedom?" I turned around slowly to be met with the huge stomach of the Millennium Earl. I smiled.

"Yes Earl." I said, tilting my head back to look up at the Earl's face.

"Well then, would you want to come back to your real home which you haven't been to in a while? 3" The Earl asked. I smiled.

"Sure Duke." I took his hand. He looked up in surprise. I just continued to smile.

"You're the leader, Earl. I'll follow." He looked at my other hand, where I was holding onto Mana's hand.

"And who's that, Fourteenth?" I hummed a tune.

"My broker."

"Hm? -3" The Earl voiced his confusion. I smiled up at him.

"He's agreed to help us with your scenario."

"I thought that the master's plan was more of a 'plot' than a 'scenario'." A be-turbaned youth who had introduced himself as Wisely at my first introduction with the Earl commented from behind. I turned to face him.

"Hi there, Wisely. I thought that it was more fitting as 'scenario'. The Earl is the stagemaster, after all, and we're the circus members who dance on stage."

"Hm, that's a poetic way of putting it." Another Noah, the one who had short wavy hair, Desires, if I remembered his name, put a finger to his lips, looking at the Earl and Road, then back at me. "So Road can be that little girl who tightrope walks with Lero, the umbrella, I can be one of those people who charms the snake and all that, or wait, maybe Fiddler can be that, and I be the fortune teller person." He looked at me. "You'll be introduced to everyone soon, Fourteenth."

"Hey, is he just the 'Fourteenth', Earl?" Wisely cut in, jabbing a thumb at me. "What's his name?"

"Hm-m, 3" The Earl said, cocking his head. I looked on, amused. "Well, as I've said before, I don't remember a Fourteenth member of our family, but family he is, so he shall have a name!"

"What about-"

"He-ey." Road cut Desires off smugly. "We can discuss this at home. My door's waiting, you know."

"My, my, look at the time. 3" The Duke said, tapping his pince-nez. "We must get going. Come along, Fourteenth." He led me by the hand. "We shall go and discuss your name."

I merely smiled and followed.

* * *

"It should be Milton! Milton would be a suitable, distinguished name, wouldn't it, Milord?" Desires jabbered on and on as we travelled through Road's cavern of space. I chuckled.

"You're noisy Everett. Shut up." Road said, yawning.

"Everett?" I asked. Road looked up at me, her eyes nonchalant.

"Oh, right. We have two names, Fourteenth. The one from our memory and the one used in reality. 'Desires' is also Everett." She pulled a face. I looked over at 'Everett', who did a sweeping bow.

"Everett Griffiths, Advisor to the Queen and the Marquis of East Alton, also carrying the responsibility of negotiating trade with the small eastern oriental land of Japan. Commodore Perry is one of my, er, subordinates. Anyhow, you have to visit my estate once before the Earl's scenario comes into play." Road looked up at Everett.

"Isn't it his 'plot'?" Everett leaned so that his face was on par with Road's.

"I believe that it sounds more artistic to say 'scenario' as our dear Fourteenth calls it. Quite charming, I think. And you know that I am a fan of the arts." As they continued to squabble I looked at Wisely, who had just been staring amusedly.

"So Wisely, do you have another name too?" I asked offhandedly.

"Me? I'm the Demon-Eye Wisely, Fourteenth, and that is how I shall always be called. I can look into the perception of the human mind, so I have always been as I was in the first reincarnation." He closed his eyes.

"H-m." I said. So that was the 'name' that they were squabbling about. "By the way, Earl, where are we going?" The Earl turned his head towards my way.

"Hm? Oh 3. As soon as we came into Road's dimension we were already here." Home. I was struck with the meaning of the word that I disregarded the fact that we had been walking around when we were already at the destination. I looked about me, and there was a room. Was this...home? Dark, wine red curtains hung from the walls, filled with matching large stuffed toys and cushy armchairs. The home was distinctly tailored to Road's style, as the candles that hung, suspended in mid-air were red and white, the floors Road's favourite checkered red and black. This was home. I closed my eyes a bit. Home.

"Wha-at? Fourteenth, are you crying?" Road stared. I opened my eyes. She wasn't wrong in that conjecture, but I wasn't going to let her know that.

"No, just nostalgic, that's all." Road's eyes seemed to look far away as she reached over on her tiptoe to put a hand to my head.

"You'll be all right." She said. "We're your family now." I smiled.

"He-ey! Road, Fourteenth!" Everett called from a rather bare-looking wooden table which he sat at with Wisely and the Earl. "Get over here!" Road gave a glare as she headed over.

"Just when I was getting chummy with the Fourteenth too-!" I looked over at Mana. He still had his mask on, following me like a loyal servant, never speaking. I disliked having to keep him in the dark, but it was necessary. The Earl's power was absolute here. My eyes twitched in irritance. No, perhaps that was an excuse. My lips formed a small smile. I was with family, people who acted like they cared for me. My brother was a shadow here, unable to talk. Even so, he was Mana, my brother. He probably has the gist of the plot already, in many ways more than one. I closed my eyes again, humming a tune as I went and joined them at the table. Like the shadow he was, Mana came and followed.

* * *

**Note: As Noahs are born as reincarnations of the original, I made Desires look different from how he is in the manga. Road has been living from the generation before, so she is still as shown in the manga (in one of the recent chapters Wisely says 'so you have looked like this for 35 years'). Wisely also looks the same because he is the Noah that retains all of his original memories due to his 'demon-eye'. You will notice this as more characters come into play. They may not be entirely the same as the Noah portrayed in the manga ****but they will act similiarly.**

**Note: If you didn't catch this before, -3 is a heart mark for the Earl.**

**Note: Intermezzo is a short movement played between two major parts of a symphony.**

**I hope you enjoyed this! **


	15. Sinfonia

**Hi there. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

******Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy! (I appreciate feedback)**

* * *

I was not entirely confused. I think that when people become confused when they reject what is happening around them, and they say "What? Why?" which only serves to make them even more confused. Trying to make sense of things also serves to thicken the fog, I think. However, in my current situation, for my own safety, I can see that I shouldn't talk, and so it leaves me time to infer what happened. It seems, from the way the others refer to my little brother, he is the 'Fourteenth', indicating that he is the 'Fourteenth' of something, and from the way Road referred to him as 'cousin', it indicated a clan. Just by looking the fat clown, or the 'Millennium Earl', as they called him, was the leader of the said clan. The 'real name' business baffled me, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was witchcraft involved, as the 'Millennium Earl' was definitely not human, and Road's 'door' was certainly not real, with its surreal hyperboles. The rest were small details that I would accept. It seems that a lot of things happened with my little brother. His whole demeanour had changed, much like me when Mother had died. For now, accepting was a calming alternative to worrying.

I turned my attention to the table, where maids with pentacles on their foreheads poured tea for all of them. The one with curly dark brown hair, Desires/Everett, ignored them as he kept talking.

"I really do think that Milton is a fabulous name. Don't you think so, Earl?" _Plop. _The Earl didn't seem to hear him as he started to place sugar cubes inside his tea with tongs. _Plop._ Road seemed to be sighing. _Plop plop plop._ I grimaced inwardly. My little brother's name was my brother's name. Why didn't they just use that one? The thought that I'd have to call my little brother 'Milton' sent shivers down my spine.

"Or maybe Sylvester. Or Wilson. Or-"

"You know, all the names you're suggesting sound like old men's names." Road declared, looking at the reflection of herself on her spoon. Everett grimaced. _Plop._

"Well, I think that a young man like the Fourteenth should have a distinguished name, so that he would be respected." Everett countered. _Plop plop plop._

"He doesn't look anything like a Syl-whatever you called him, or Milton!" Road argued. Everett sighed as if it was the obvious. _Plop plop._

"Of course, Road. People grow into the names given to them; not the other way around. So, as I was saying, perhaps Gab-"

"No! Make it that name and you die!" Road interjected. She rounded to my little brother. "And let's hear the Fourteenth's opinion." _Plop._

"Excellent. So, Fourteenth, what do you think?" Everett also turned to look at my little brother. My brother merely smiled.

"Whatever name my lord decides will be fine for me." Everett and Road looked at each other, and then at the Earl, who was drinking his 20+ sugar cube-filled tea.

"Hm? -3" The Earl put his tea down, looking around.

"Please decide the Fourteenth's name, Milord." Everett said tentatively. The Earl put a finger to his mouth, or teeth, for that matter.

"Hm-. -3" There was a long span of time in which the Earl did nothing but 'hm'. The clock ticked. "Ah! -3" The Earl grinned. "I know what it should be!"

"..." He said the name. Everyone froze for a split second. Everett's eyes just stayed wide. Road sighed. Wisely smiled ruefully and put a hand to his head. There was a silence.

"Er..." Everett was the first to break it. "Isn't that...kind of...long?" The Earl cocked his head.

"Hm-? -3 Is that so? You said you could leave it to me..." My little brother closed his eyes, interlocking his fingers.

"I'm fine with it." He said. Road sighed.

"Guess we'll just call you the Fourteenth then." Fourteenth. Is that number what I was to call my little brother from now on? He merely smiled. Everett glanced over at the clock hanging from the wall, and sighed. Everett then stood up.

"Well, it has been a pleasure, Fourteenth. It is now four o'clock in the afternoon, and I have a summons from the Queen at five." He went and got his coat, turning around. "So, I will bid you all adieu." He smiled at Wisely. "Wisely, don't be too hard on him, okay?" Wisely seemed to ignore him.

"Have a fun time!" Road called out. With a salute, Everett walked out. As soon as he was out, Wisely started to talk.

"So, down to business. Hey, Fourteenth." He said, businesslike. My little brother focused his eyes on the five-eyed boy.

"What?"

"Kindly get your silent butler out of the room. It's time for a semi-family reunion." Although this was said in a light manner, it was clearly meant as a warning. My little brother intertwined his fingers together and leaned on them, his expression almost a smirk as he make his eyes half open.

"Hey, you heard." He said nonchalantly, addressing me. I was slightly irritated; after all, he was my little brother, and it took considerable amount of patience to tolerate that from one's own sibling. However I could see that this was not the time. I bowed, leaving the room. I was still not sure what I was permitted to address my little brother. A maid with a pentacle on her forehead led me out into a plain room with stark white walls. The only thing adorning it was a bed and a bedside desk. There was one bell by the bed; a servant's bell. I walked closer to the bell, which, if I remembered correctly from when Mother was still alive, the place that the summons was coming from would be etched onto the bell. I leaned closer as I read the inscription.

It read 'Fourteenth' in a curly, elegant font.

* * *

**Note: Sinfonia is yet another piece of music used between two movements to make the transition smoother. Historically, it was most commonly used in the 17th and 18th centuries as an introduction, postlude, or interlude to a cantata, opera, oratorio, or suite.**

**Note: In chapter 187 page 35 Tyki says "The Fourteenth's name is kinda long to call", so that's where the Fourteenth's long name comes from.**

**Sorry about the shortness of the chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it! **

**Reviews are welcome.**


	16. Entr'acte

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

******Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy! (I appreciate feedback)**

* * *

"_There never was and has never been a 'Fourteenth Noah', so in regards to a lot of things we don't know. However, you seem to know what's going on, so we won't elaborate until you ask." _I opened my eyes, staring up at the ceiling, my expression devoid of emotion. I'd been smiling so much that my cheeks were starting to hurt. But this was fun. Every time I teased Road, or interacted with my 'family', a thrill would go up my spine, a little bubble burst of giddiness up my throat. Maybe it was the nonexistent Noah within me.

I let out a puff of air from my nose in derision. The Fourteenth Noah, who has never existed before. An anomaly, enigma. I closed my eyes once again, seeing darkness. The days of the convent seemed far away, like a dream, as if I was never there. The feelings that I had at that convent were unfamiliar, and I did not feel them anymore. Anger, sadness, love, happiness, all of them had disappeared as I had seen it over and over during my 'awakening'. They had all been swallowed by the sea of time. It seemed like the only thing left was mirth, the urge to laugh, as well as apathy. Detachment was what I felt, aloneness, the feeling of a sole being standing, a black amidst a stark contrasting white. I was still a Walker, Mana Walker's little brother, and at the same time not so.

I tried to recollect my times at the convent. What I did. What I learned. Who I met. It was all like a picture drawn in charcoal, as soon as wind disturbed it much of the rubbings blew off. The names of the people, even what happened, were hazy, and I didn't care about them. Should I care? What would I feel if I cared? Would anything change? Even as I thought and thought I couldn't remember much. There had nun that was elderly and a nun that was young. I pictured them in my mind, but I couldn't remember their faces. There was that priest that I took off of the face of the earth. I remember its face, full of terror, as I had given it over to Road.

"Heh," I chuckled. No doubt it was being 'played' with Road's toys. Maybe she already got bored with it? I sat up and looked at the clothes that I had changed out of when I had come into Road's realm. I had grown, and so the homespun clothes from the convent I took off and changed into any clothes that I'd found in the closet. I reached in the inner pocket, and found the music score, something that I'd made in a dream. The sheaf of paper I had drawn it on was already starting to crumple and age. I closed my eyes started to hum the tune, imagining the piano.

Out of all the haziness, the piano in the convent was still very clear to me. It had been a grand piano, white with elegant golden designs intertwining the whole surface. I looked at the score again, my eyes following the notes that myself from long ago had drawn out. It started off high, on the high A, descending to a G and rising again, this time to a high D, with a low B being the chord for the first beat. A lullaby. Amidst my fog of useless memories there were words to it.

"And then the little boy fell asleep...The thousands of dreams that trickle to earth...However many prayers are returned to earth...That this child may know love..." I sang it almost in a whisper, as if in a trance. Darkness, once again. There were colourful streams of lines that spasmed, flowing through the darkness, going through any object. They were like ghosts, eyes glittering and mouths open into wide grins as they hovered, went through crowds, people ignoring them. They flew from a man screaming in agony as they flew out with force from the room only to fade and die. They wickedly surrounded a different man, locked in a jail cell, until they left him, empty and hollow. They ate away at a bridge as soldiers marched across it and the bridge fell down. They swarmed around a tiny infant as it fell to sleep, caressing its face gently. Then they came to me, as if to say 'hello', their eyes gleaming and teeth showing as they grinned, touching my face with their little fingers, swarming around me. This was a memory. I opened my eyes.

Wisely had told me about this. The other Noahs were reincarnations of themselves from seven thousand years ago, and most of their original memory, as well as powers, were retained. But I was not there then. The Fourteenth Noah. That was what I was. One that was not supposed to exist. Thinking about it made me giggle. A streamer- object appeared and seemingly giggled beside me. However, as all humans possess Noah genes, Wisely had said, I might see glimpses of the past from the eyes of other humans. I giggled again. The streamer-buddy giggled silently in unison.

"What do you think, eh?" I asked it playfully, poking its transparent shadowlike body I turned my body on the bed, facing it. It grinned, teeth glinting enigmatically. It also rolled on the bed, almost like a fat eel. The original traces of brilliant colour it had when I had giggled and talked were fading, followed by a dull transparent black that became its body. It rolled its body over to my face, tiny hands forming itself from its body, coming out and touching my face, like in the memory.

"_..master...master..."_ This voice was not meant to be heard by others, nor did I wish to share this secret. It was mine. And mine only. I twirled my finger around as the streamer-buddy intertwined within them, happily playing around. There was a nagging feeling within me, something I forgot. My fingers stopped. Right. Mana.

What should I do about him? I pondered. He was only a mere 'broker' in the eyes of Noah, at a whim he could be killed. I chuckled as the streamer-buddy pulled on a finger with its stubby hands, still thinking. I walked over to the door, and as I did so the streamer-buddy went into the knob and opened it. I smiled.

* * *

"Ea-rl!" The Earl was sitting, alone, on a rocking chair, knitting a red and white scarf. He looked up, facing me with that frozen smile of his. I twirled around the room, leaning on the back of the rocking chair. "What're you doing?" I asked jauntily.

"Knitting a scarf, Fourteenth-kun. 3" The Earl replied, continuing to knit. "Family time is important, Fourteenth-kun. Christmas is right around the corner, you know." I put my chin on the chair.

"You're right, Earl. What do you want for Christmas?" I poked at his hat, which was black, decorated with lollipops. He reached up with his stubby gloved fingers and pushed his hat back up, which had gone over his pince-nez glasses due to my poke. He looked up at me, still knitting.

"Surprises are nice -3." I smiled, stepping backward with my right leg to push the rocking chair back.

"Gyaaaaaaa! Lerorororororo!" A familiar scream went up into the air.

"Hm?" I said, lifting my foot and turning to see what I had stepped on. The Earl also stopped knitting to look as well. A disgruntled stepped on umbrella with a pumpkin on top started to straighten itself up.

"Oh, hi Lero." I greeted the umbrella. The umbrella jumped up, and as it opened its mouth to started its jabber I immediately covered my ear, effectively blocking out most of the volume of its shrill ensemble. While the umbrella continued to shriek I could see a lot of shadow-buddies, like the one from my room coming out from the sound of the umbrella's shrieks. The shadow-buddies reached out with their hands, covering my ears. I let my hands fall from my ears, and the volume of the umbrella's shrieks were reduced to mutterings.

"_It's okay." _I thought in my mind as I hummed a tune. The shadow-buddies immediately stepped back, one by one peeling their hands off my ear. A few stayed however, as the umbrella's shrieks were still quite loud. I looked at the umbrella and picked it up by the handle, smiling.

"That hurt-lerororororororo! Fourteenth-tama, that hurt-lerororororoooo! Put me down, Lerorororororo! Earl-tama, earl-tama! Lerorororororo!" It shrieked, wiggling within my grasp as I held onto the handle firmly, nonchalantly swinging the umbrella's pumpkin face close to mine.

"Hello. What are you?" I asked, smiling. Road had had this umbrella with her when we met as well. My curiosity was piqued as I looked at it. Mana had told me in some far off memory that people were trying to make their lives easier by making contraptions. Given the fact that the Earl is supernatural, I wouldn't be very surprised if the contraption was ahead of the outside world. I continued to examine the umbrella amidst the umbrella's shrill screeches of insults and 'lerororororo's, whatever that could mean. I flipped the folds of the umbrella, trying to find the contraption, and, finding none, I ignored the umbrella's yells of protest as I looked at the Earl.

"Earl." I called. There was no answer. "Earl. Earl! Millennium Ea-rl!" I raised my voice gradually. Even the umbrella fell silent.

"Hm?" The Earl finally raised his head from his knitting, cocking his head. "Ah ha! -3" He exclaimed as he pulled earplugs out from his long ears. The umbrella and I looked at him in silence. "Did someone say my name? -3" He asked, unperturbed.

"Earl, what is this?" I asked. At this the umbrella started to jabber.

"Earl-tama, Fourteenth-tama is almost as bad as Road-tama, lerororororo! Lero is lero, lerororororo!" So the self-proclaimed Lero wailed. The Earl cocked his head further.

"Ah? -3 Lero is a golem, Fourteenth-kun."

"Golem?" I asked, staring at Lero.

"A golem is a tool used to communicate with others." Wisely's voice hovered around the room as he walked in from behind a curtain. "Well, that's the kind of 'golem' the Order's been trying to make one with their so-called science."

"Oh, you were there, Wisely? You could have said something, you know." I said nonchalantly. I looked back at Lero the umbrella again. Science, huh? Lero seemed to be sweating from under my gaze, but I took no notice.

"I'm assuming Lero is different though?" I asked, shaking the umbrella a by its handle a bit. At this Lero opened his mouth in full retaliation. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the Duke put the earplugs back in his ear and Wisely stick his fingers in his ear. My shadow-buddies placed their hands around my ears as well as the shrieking started once again.

"Of course Lero is different, lerorororo! Lero was made by the Earl-tama, a great sorcerer, himself, lerorororo! Not by some human's pathetic technology, lerorororororo!" Soon the umbrella ran out of breath as I let go of it and it sat on the armrest of the Earl's rocking chair, panting.

"The duke's a sorcerer?" I asked, surprised as I petted the tired out Lero's head. Lero jumped a foot away from me, scooting to the edge of the armrest.

"Yep, the master's a sorcerer from the ancient times." Wisely answered, absentmindedly poking Lero in the back of the head. Lero jumped away from him, stuck between Wisely and I. Lero scooted to the middle, his head swerving back and forth between us, intimidated.

"Hmm? -3" The Earl turned his head again. "You're praising me too much, Wisely -3. Now, now, enough talk, more knitting. Knitting -3" The Earl continued to knit. Then, as if on afterthought, he turned back at us. "Oh, and you should stop bullying Lero. -3" At this the umbrella jumped up.

"That's right, Wisely-tama and Fourteenth-tama-lerorororo! Earl-tama says stop, so stop lerororo!" Wisely and I disregarded him, terrorizing him as the Earl just kept on serenely knitting away.

* * *

**Note: Since each of the Noah have different powers according to their title (ex: Tyki is the Noah of Pleasure, therefore he can choose what to touch and what not to touch), and since the Fourteenth is the Musician, he can control Sound(sound is personified in this sense) ^^**

**Note: ****Entr'acte is yet another piece of music that is put as an introduction.**

******It's kind of dragging, I know ^^;; but I promise, its neccessary!**

******I hope you enjoyed this!**

******Reviews are appreciated.**


	17. Tacet

**Sorry its kind of late... again. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

******Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy! (I appreciate feedback)**

* * *

"We're going to Edo?" Wisely asked, turning his head towards the Earl as they stood out in the rain on a rooftop. "More specifically, _you're_ coming with us to Edo?" The Earl leaned over from his position on the edge to take a better look at the antlike people below. He nonchalantly twirled the silent Lero in the air.

"Yep, Wisely-tan." Wisely grimaced at the term of endearment as he also took a look below from where he sat at the edge of the flat roof at the tiny specks moving.

"Why?" He asked searchingly as the pouring rain dripped down his face. Normally the Earl would not care. The Earl spends time with the Noah family, but on occasions when he has time between his creating of Akumas. Always the plan. The plan was the Earl's first priority. The appearance of a Fourteenth should not alter that. Wisely watched the Earl as the Earl lost his balance and teetered, swinging his arms to maintain balance but ultimately failed as the Earl fell off the edge. Momentarily the Earl floated back up, the open umbrella holding him aloft.

"I wish to know the Fourteenth. -3" The Earl answered as he descended below. Wisely smiled sardonically at this response. Another of the Earl's whimsies. He watched as the Earl disappeared into the crowds, unnoticed. Will it actually amount to something this time?

* * *

I sat, waiting. Waiting for what seemed to be ages. My little brother had not come to see me since that night. A month had passed. Where was he? I wanted to run out of the room and find him, yell at him for keeping me in the dark, but something restrained me, as if this room was the only thing protecting me from the strange and crooked world of the Earl and his family. I had been fed in my confinement, if it was at all confinement. At first I had been afraid to touch the food, but soon found it edible.

I had spent the month doodling, writing nonsense with the ink and paper I had found in the desk next to the bed. Anything to stave off the boredom I was feeling. However, I was firmly convinced that I was going insane. In this bleak room there was nothing but myself, the bed, and the bell thing, as well as a desk filled with paper and pen and ink, but sometimes I would hear the _plink_ of a piano from times long gone, a giggle in a corner, or some noise in a corner when there was obviously nothing there.

_Clink._ I jumped and turned around. _Clink._ The bell, with the elegant font of 'Fourteenth' written below it, had unmistakeably rung. I got up, slightly unsettled. I'd been waiting for this, hadn't I? But now that the opportunity had presented itself, I didn't know what to do. Where was the fourteenth's, or my little brother's room? Where was I to go? I took a deep breath and I walked forward. To my surprise the door opened on its own, the knob turning with a click and opening wide. I walked out into a hall with polished wooden floors and high ceilings. The door abruptly closed behind me. There was a small kitchen in front of me, and unto my right and left there were doors. I looked both ways, wary, when the door to the left's knob clicked and the door opened, much like how the first door had opened.

A bead of sweat travelled down my face. Was it telling me the way to go? I tried, just to make sure, to open the door on the right. I was right. It would not open. The only way I could go was the way my invisible butler was leading me. It was a winding maze, one so intricate that I almost lost myself, and when I came to, I was standing in front of a young man dressed in fine clothes, who was standing beside Road.

"Well, take care of things while I'm gone." The young man said authoritatively, with a hint of a careless smile gracing his face. It was then that I noticed. This stranger, the young man, was my little brother. It was a facade that he wore, just like the fine clothes and the cape. A mask.

I restrained the urge to put a hand in front of my face. He had changed. Not only in demeanour, but in appearance. His hair, which had always stuck out messily before was the same, but it stuck out in a unnaturally elegant way, as if he had intended it to look that way from the very beginning. His eyes, which had always looked at the world with wonder, had been replaced by eyes that were calculating and cold. He had become thinner. His forehead was branded, like Road's was, by five crosses.

Was this stranger even my little brother? I questioned myself. Is there a possibility, that, he, my little brother, had undergone something that altered his personality that I, Mana Walker, had allowed to happen while being in that secluded room? The atmosphere that my little brother- no, this person, gave off was almost so mirthful that it was bizarre. The smile that graced his face was serene, but possessed coldness as such that one would not be able to fathom what was going on within his mind. It was frightening, this feeling of anxiousness that settled and nagged at the bottom of my principles. Nonetheless, I stayed silent, like I had been the entire time.

"Ne-eh Fourteenth?" Road asked, "Why do you pay attention to this human so much? Do you like him or something? Going as far as to make him send us off..."

"Hmm?" My little brother looked sideways at her, smiling. He leaned forward a bit too. He had also grown taller. He was almost my height. "Well, I guess you could say that. Anyways, he's my broker, so I have to keep in touch with him, no?" Road narrowed her eyes slightly but was content with his answer.

"Anyways," She said, drawing out the words, "Time for the long-awaited family reunion, Fourteenth! This time with the whole family, and not just stupid Everett." She rolled her eyes.

"Yes," He said, smiling. He then clicked his heels and without another glance at me he turned away. The door behind me opened slightly, beckoning back to my prison.

* * *

**Note: Tacet means 'it is silent', and it means that the musician doesn not play until signalled to do so.**

**I know it seems like its dragging, bear with me!**


	18. Rest

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

**Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy! (I appreciate feedback)**

* * *

"We're here," Road said. Hearing no response she turned back, only to see me sprawled out on the marble floor. "...What are you doing?" She asked, alarmed. I opened my eyes.

"It just felt nostalgic." I replied as she stared down at me. She appeared to be nonplussed by my action. "Don't worry, I'll get up." I sat up, looking around. "But seriously, where is this place?" The ceiling of the building was built in a cathedral-like arch, high off the ground, with dark red curtains rimming the sides of walls. All around the room there seemed to be floating oil portraits of distinguished people, lit by gloomy candles. "And these people?"

"We're in Japan, and our base is here, as you might remember from what Wisely told you before. And as for the portraits, they are the former reincarnations of all thirteen of us, I think." Road said, bored. "Of course, since you were never here before, there isn't a former reincarnation of you."

"Exactly -3," Said the Earl as he slipped out from the darkness. Road and I did not flinch, but just looked up bemusedly. The Earl cocked his head. "By the way, you two are late!" He put his short arms to his enormous torso and leaned forward. Lero the umbrella followed suit by hopping forward as well and screeching,

"Late, Road-tama! Fourteenth-tama!" Road flicked Lero as she walked forward.

"Shut up, umbrella." She turned and walked through the door. I smiled, following.

"Sorry we were late, Earl."

When I walked through the door, the sight that met my eyes was not surprising. There was a long table, much like the one in Road's dimension, though much more grandiose, and there were ten people sitting around it, eating caramelized fruit. At the head of the table, the Earl sat down.

"So he's the Fourteenth?" A man with a beard said, tilting his very out of date hat up to look at my face. "Skinny, ain't he?"

"Fiddler, it is rude of you to interject so before the Head could speak." An elegantly dressed woman in a Parisian gown said as she primly adjusted her hat.

"Hear, hear!" Roared a rather large man munching down his portion. The woman delicately sniffed.

"Now now, Wrath, this is a family dinner. We must wait for everyone to sit, mustn't we?" Everett said, casting his eyes slyly to the man. He then turned to the Earl. "Now, Earl, we await your words." The Earl cocked his head.

"I'm supposed to say something -3? Well then, welcome," He indicated to me, "My brother." A hush fell over the family as I sat down in the chair that magically appeared beside them.

"As you all can see -3, we have gained another disciple to fight against the hateful Innocence and God -3." It was clear that the others were listening intently listening to his words, no matter how nonchalantly they were behaving. "Now, all of you, introduce yourselves -3!" He ended his monologue happily. They froze.

"..."

"...wait. Wait, wait, wait." The man called Fiddler, who had been slouching on the table with his legs upon it, broke the silence, holding his arms up. "Doesn't he already know us?"

"No." Wisely answered, picking up a piece of strawberry and looking very bored at it. "He isn't in my memory, nor the Earl's. He's never existed before."

"But he's a Noah?" The ladylike woman asked uncertainly, placing her napkin on her lap. "Is this not a trap by the enemy? If he did not exist before, why does he persist to exist as a Noah now?"

"Lustful, you can rest assured that he's a Noah. Any one of us can tell." Everett said, closing his eyes then opening them, looking sideways at her. "You know it too, don't you? Even if you don't know the Fourteenth." Lustful narrowed her eyes.

"Hey, then what's the fuss?" Asked a jaunty youth with very curly black hair. "He's one of us, so let's treat him like one already!" He walked up to my chair, leaned on the back seat of it, and outstretched his long arm. "Nice to meetcha, I'm Joyd. Within the human world," he sweeped his hand theatrically, "A wandering nameless beggar." He grinned. I smiled back at him.

"Nice to meet you too."

"A-hahahahaha, he's right. I can't believe a brat figured out so easily what adults couldn't!" Road started to laugh. Joyd's head snapped in her direction, is eyes narrowed.

"Road, what are you talking about? You're the youngest out of all of us!" Road smirked.

"But I don't act like a brat." Was her answer.

"Ahem, excuse me then." Stated Lustful, coughing into her handkerchief. She raised her head high. "I am Lustful, and I am known in the world as Celeste Bouldevarde, the wife of the crippled aristocrat Edmund Bouldevarde." A collective snicker went around the table which she took part of.

"SaYoko, you aren't going to say anything?" Everett asked two girls around the age of ten who were sitting next to him. One had blonde hair, and the other had black hair, and they both dressed in strange robes that I guessed were of another country. Everett leaned closer as there was no response, when a finger suddenly pointed just millimetres away from his eyes.

"-the freak you think you're doing?" A rough, rather accented voice came out harshly, and a pair of fierce eyes glared from the curtain of black hair. She wore a pink robe thing that had red and black flowers scattered across it. Everett, whose eyes had become very wide for a second, calmly closed his eyes and backed away.

"Oh, were you asleep? Well, the mysterious Fourteenth is here. Yoko, would you like to say something?"

"Shut up, you high ranking officious son of a-" She spoke in another language as she made crude gestures with her hand. She continued this tirade for a bit.

"Hee hee hee." Meanwhile, the blonde girl sharing the seat next to her in a black robe with red and pink flowers laughed, ineffectively covering her laughter with the sleeve of her robe. Her face was covered with her blonde hair, but I somehow knew that these two were twins. Finally, the black-haired one, or Yoko, turned her attention to me, using her hand to comb back her long black hair.

"Fourteenth, huh."

"Hi." I said casually. She glared at me.

"Whatever."

"Ya might want to be careful, Fourteenth." Joyd whispered to me secretively. "Sayo and Yoko, they're from here, ya know, Japan, when Everett was scouting, so their behaviour, er, culture is kinda different from Engl-" Sugar cubes started raining down upon his head from the twins.

"Ah, family bond. -3" The Earl said serenely as Joyd began retaliating and the twins began to scream and chaos fell about them. When it had finally calmed down, Everett coughed, and started to speak.

"-and, just before we were interrupted that man over there is some sea captain, pirate or something, I forgot his name in the human world, but he is Wrath." Everett interjected, trying to calm the atmosphere. I looked at the said sea captain, who within the fray had fallen asleep. His face looked sullen, as if angry about something, even in sleep.

"But anyway, I see that there're fourteen seats here, but where are the rest?" I asked, counting with my fingers. "There's Sayo, Yoko, Desires, Joyd, Road, Lustful, Wrath, Wisely, Fiddler, me, and the Earl. That makes only eleven of us."

"Ten." Corrected Wisely. I tilted my head.

"Sayo and Yoko are one Noah, Mercym." Road stated matter-of-factly. Ah, that made sense.

"Well, ya know, some of us are doing our Master's work here and there, so Mightra, Bondomu, and Tryde couldn't quite make it." Joyd said playfully. "'Course, can't reveal to them exorcists that we Noahs are up and about though." Road slapped her hand onto the table

"To sum it up in total, Earl's the first disciple, Tryde's the second, Joyd's the third, Everett's the fourth, Wisely's the fifth, Fiddler's the sixth, Mercym is the seventh, Wrath is the eighth, I'm the ninth, Bondomu's the tenth and eleventh, Lustful's the twelveth, Mightra's the thirteenth, and you are the Fourteenth."

"May I ask why my name was put up as Everett instead of Desires, Road?" Everett interjected. Road turned her head away, her nose in the air.

"Obviously because the name Everett suits you more than Desires!" She replied, and at this everyone laughed.

* * *

"What are you doing, Fourteenth-kun? -3" The Earl appeared, a candle in his hand, illuminating his ever-smiling face. I was in the common room, as it would be called, reading a book on the origination of the Noah. The family dinner had ended quite some time ago, and it was quite late.

"Reading, Earl. History." I held up the book for him to look at. The Earl said nothing, but sat down in the adjacent couch and continued to knit his already ridiculously long six feet scarf.

"Earl." I said.

"Hmm? -3." He asked, looking up.

"For every Noah, even if they die, they'll reincarnate once again, right?" I asked vaguely.

"That is correct." The Earl replied. There was a pause.

"What will happen to me if I die?" I asked, more to myself than to him. Heaven? A laugh almost escaped me. Surely not. That day, when I became a Noah, I renounced any claims there. Hell? What kind of place would that be? Then ... nothingness?

"All Noahs, have had powers since the first reincarnation, given by me. -3 That will make you strong, and the exorcists no match against it. -3" The Earl said.

"Ah...That's what it was." I said, mindlessly crushing a piece of paper that I had written on rather loudly. Because I had crushed it rather fast, the sound came out to be a loud Tm. The sound from the page produced a small streamer-buddy.

"Hm? -3" The Earl said, looking up.

Go, I directed the streamer-buddy. The streamer-buddy picked up the ball of yarn and twirled it around the room.

"Oh? -3" The Earl exclaimed happily. "Sound! -3" I smiled.

"You already figured it out, Earl?" I asked, making the streamer buddy fold the end of the scarf in half. "And I thought you loved surprises." I teased.

"I do, Fourteenth -3." He answered, aiming a poke at the invisible streamer buddy and missing. "That was a passable one.-3"

"Oh? So it can't be considered your Christmas present?" I teased back. I had the streamer buddy wave goodbye with the scarf, then I dismissed it.

"Tut tut, Fourteenth. You have to do much better than that.-3" The Earl said, waving his finger.

"Pity." There was a pause as I read the next chapter. I chuckled, barely audible. "...Earl, this is a lie, right? That Noah are invincible?"

"Kind of, Fourteenth-chan." The Earl seemed pensive. "The Noah reincarnate, and their souls are the same, but the people change. Like Sayo-pyon and Yoko-pyon. Before Mercym was from a French colony, and they were somewhat refined in their insults. Fun fun fun, isn't it, Fourteenth? You get to meet the same people, but as different people! -3" I glanced up at him.

"...Earl, are you all right with that?" I spoke softly, looking into the distance. "There may not be the same but different version of me." The Earl did not answer. The shadow of the moonlight covered the Earl's face, making it impossible to see his expression. I stood up. And leaned on the back of his armchair.

"Earl?"

"Hm? -3" The cheery voice hung in the air.

"Sorry, that was a bit mean of me." I spoke. The Earl kept on knitting.

"Don't worry, even after your scenario I won't die. I'll be by your side no matter what happens."

* * *

The streamer-buddy hovered through the corridor, and crawled in through the slit of Road's door at the end of the hallway, scrunching its body into paper-thinness. It passed through the many dimensions of Road's world, unnoticed by the inhabitants until it came to a room with a boy, or rather, man, sleeping in a bed next to a bell labelled Fourteenth in gold letters. The streamer-buddy tilted his bloblike head some. Was this the person his master wanted him to see?

The streamer-buddy hovered over the sleeping figure, circling over his head a few times, before deciding to wake this person up. Little tiny hands came about from his form, and the streamer-buddy smacked with all his might the ear of the person. Tm. It produced a small noise similar to what had been made when the streamer-buddy had been made. The person did not stir. Tm. It slapped harder. Tm. This time the person stirred.

"Hm? Tm?" The person mumbled. Encouraged, the streamer-buddy tried again. Tm. At this the person finally opened his eyes.

"Tm...Tim? What?" Still groggy, he mumbled a few incoherent words that sounded similar. The streamer-buddy stretched his body and clapped his hands over the person's ear. The person was confused for a bit, hearing no sound when he yawned. Before the person could do any more the streamer buddy let the words written by his master on the page that was crushed to create him reverberate into the person's ear.

_Mana. It's me. You know who it is, right?_

The person froze, and started to mouth a word, a name, except that the streamer-buddy blocked it off, absorbing the sound.

_Don't talk. I'm going to explain the situation now. I am part of the Noah family, who is a family that basically possesses supernatural abilities and flits in and out of history. The Millenium Earl's the head of the family, and we're going to destroy God. God is the root of all of our mess, Mana, and the Innocence is in league. They're the ones to blame for our misfortune. That priest, the nun, all of them. They were against us from the very beginning. This communication method is one of my powers. At the same time, I know that trusting an organization like I did in the convent is dangerous, but I have a plan. So that we can live and exist without worry. Like we promised that day, long ago._

As the message ended with a final phrase, the streamer-buddy observed the young man say something mutely, and shed a few tears. When the young man had finished crying, there was no qualm left in his eyes.

* * *

"Earl, so how about it?" I asked, smiling. The Earl seemed to put his hands behind his back, his face also in an unfathomable smile.

"You are good at making me do things I don't really want to, Fourteenth-kun." My smile deepened, the ends of my eyes also curving.

"I know, Earl."

"Very well, Fourteenth. I shall teach you sorcery."

* * *

_Mana, I will become the Millenium Earl._

* * *

**Note: Rest is when the musician does not play.**

**Reviews would be greatly appreciated -3**


	19. And the play continues

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

**Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy! (I appreciate feedback)**

* * *

"Your mission has been assigned, Exorcist." Men garbed in black cloaks said from the thrones, towering above. The young man those words were addressed to paid no mind, but merely yawned.

"So formal." He muttered with a smirk, and scratched his unkempt red hair as he left the place.

* * *

"Yo, hey, so let's meet up after your mission so we can go onto the next one, ok-" _Crack_. The mechanical voice of the electrical golem abruptly stopped as the man threw a rock at it, effectively knocking it to the ground. The last words the golem ever communicated before it died was "- make sure you don't let the inhabitants find out."

"Yak, yak, so annoying." The man said, taking the hat he had bought miles ago and covering his face with it. He was laying on the ground, leisurely looking at the sky. He looked at the broken golem wistfully. "Could've let me sleep a little longer."

He got up, stretching his arms and yawning, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. He had long given the Black Order's carriage the slip, but that annoying golem had to follow him. Right. The Black Order was nothing more than an organization where stuffed old fogeys who had no idea what they were doing ran it, with the people doing the work being worked till they died. That's the way the world worked, after all. He spat on the ground.

He was tired of everything. No, maybe even bored. He was tired of all this Innocence-mongering and killing Akuma. Yes, the act probably saved lives the world and yak yak yak, but it was all a bore. He glanced at the golem once more, and thought of his team and the General that found him to be an exorcist. Maybe they got satisfaction from thinking they were doing the world a favour and saving innocent lives, but he sure didn't. The people that he saved, yeah, they were usually pretty thankful. But that was because people who've been saved are generally grateful. Some exorcists lived off of that. Not him. He probably would've already quit if it weren't for the thrill. The thrill of almost dying during a fight with an Akuma. That was all he lived for. That thrill, the only acknowledgement to himself that he was still alive.

* * *

The town of Heatherfield was only a ways away, located on an island, and when he finally got to it he saw the finders at the front of the bridge. The Finders, in their bland cloaks and their communicator backpacks, all according to procedure, carefully unnoticeable. He grimaced distastefully. What a bother. He just got out of the Order on a mission and was going to be bossed around some more. Instead of going through the bridge, he bought a boat with the Order's money and got into the town from the shore on the other side of the bridge.

The town was a rather large one, but he instantly stood out, just like he knew he would. He _did_ have good looks, after all, as well as a fashion sense. People stared at him, housewives commented about him, and girls exclaimed about him as he walked through the town. He was aware of all this, of course, but his main priority was to find a good inn to stay at. They were all pretty run down, so in the end he chose the most expensive one, which was also coincidentally the one that looked the nicest. As he went in and started to eat, four of the girls from outside also came in. The girls squabbled a bit, then the one with the most boldness, came up to him.

"H-hello. I haven't seen your face around here. Are you a traveller?" What a stupid question. Obviously. But he decided to play along. After all, if there's something, might as well make the most of it. He smiled at them and nodded. Encouraged, another girl asked "What's your name?"

"Cross." He replied with a handsome smile. "Cross Marian."

* * *

**Review please!**

**Note: I've read some of the latest chapters of D. Gray-man, and I will include information in them in the later chapters.**

**Happy Holidays!**


	20. Act Twelve: Animandosi

**I hope people have had a merry Christmas!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

******Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Cross learned quite a bit of things as he talked to the girls, particularly information on the personal lives of other people. Mostly worthless information, but nonetheless amusing that the girls thought it was their business to pry. It was early evening when one of the girls, Hannah, said,

"Hey, Mary, we should go to the chapel. There's a choral gathering today, right? We'll be late." Mary, the bold one that started the conversation, shook her head. Between the four girls, she was undoubtedly the one with the best looks, with her full, brown locks, face and figure.

"We can skip for today. I mean, Mister Cross is very interesting. I'm sure Sister Geraldine won't complain too much." The other two girls, Annie and Matilda, nodded in agreement. After a moment Hannah giggled, and said,

"Oh, think about it. It'll only be Maria and Sister Geraldine in the choral gathering today then." Mary giggled as well.

"Oh, right. Well, I hope the Sister doesn't go deaf then."

"What's this about?" Cross asked amusedly. The girls, who had been sitting next to him, leaned forward, and started to speak in hurried, hushed tones.

"You see, Maria-"

"-she has the most_ terrifying _voice-"

"..sounds like an old lady's."

"But she's in the chorus-"

"-because the Sister takes pity on her."

"She also doesn't have any parents!"

"I heard that her mother was a prostitute-"

"Scandalous, right?"

"She was taken in by the innkeeper here-"

"And she has the most terrible personality-"

"-I heard she slapped Peter for trying to kiss her on the cheek-"

"-_So_ rude-"

"I know, right? Peter is too good for her!"

"Who does she think she is?"

"The only thing she has going for her is the fact that her face is pretty." Mary finished, then added on an afterthought, "Though of course, it sure doesn't look that way when she always glares at people like they're monsters." Cross listened to this with an underlying derision. People were monsters, in some way or another. The girls just proved that. Anyways, his mission had to do with the chapel in general, so he decided that he might as well go and look now as opposed to later.

"Hmm...I don't want you girls to skip out on choral practice for me, you know." He commented. The girls opened their mouths in protest, and before they could give another stream of words he started to talk. "I'll go see your choral practice, how about that?" Their eyes glittered with happiness, it was almost sickening.

* * *

The convent was at the edge, and Cross chattered with the girls as they giggled and entered. They entered just as an old, decrepit Sister was scolding a girl.

"The intonation should be clearer, Maria!" The girls with Cross collectively snickered. The Sister looked almost relieved as she saw them coming, but still kept her stern visage.

"Girls! You are late, and what is this?" She beckoned to Cross. "Out gallivanting with men?" The girls shyly quieted to an awkward silence.

"Sister," Cross said, breaking it lazily, "I imposed upon the girls to let me come, so will you excuse them at least once please?" He pulled on the rose crest of the Church that was emblazoned upon his chest of his coat casually.

"!" The Sister reacted immediately. Cross smiled and made a shushing motion with his finger. The Sister looked away. She coughed.

"Hrmm, well, it is okay," She glared at the girls, "On the condition that you girls are never late again!"

"Yes, Sister Geraldine." They all chorused.

As the rehearsal progressed, Cross looked at the girl, Maria, whom the others had described to him. She had kept her head down the entire time, her dark black hair covering her face, rendering it impossible to see. She was a very tall girl, towering above the others. Cross considered this, for he, too, was a pretty tall man. She would be around the same height, he concluded. She wore a very modest, simple dress out of washed out brown muslin. Nothing to look at, unlike the other girls, who were dressed in colourful clothing that accentuated their looks and livelihood.

Then, for a second, she lifted her head, allowing for a glimpse of her face. Whatever words Mary had used to describe her seemed like understatements. She was beautiful. Her black hair, which waved in and out, framing her pale face, reached to the small of her back. Her green eyes were piercing, challenging and dangerous. The contours of her face were perfect, as if a sculptor had made her out of marble, and her lips a shade of faint pink. At the same time, however, she was not pretty in a gaudy way, where everyone would notice her beauty. It was a delicate sort; one that was underlying, the kind people appreciated more by staring at. But before Cross could continue staring her head hung again, looking at the floor dejectedly as the Sister called her name.

"Maria!" The Sister called out exasperatedly. "The alto section is to be at a soft piano, not mezzo-forte!" Cross rolled his eyes at this. The girl didn't even change the volume that much; it was probably just that by straightening up it made her voice sound louder. Or maybe the hag was deaf. The other girls exchanged looks of derisiveness as the singing halted momentarily.

"...s..." Within the silence a tiny muttering was heard. Cross cocked his head.

"What? Maria, speak up!" The other girl's smirks were obvious. Cross realized that Maria had spoken.

"...ai'b zollee zizter baria..." A froglike croak sputtered out an apology. Cross's eyes went wide. Good God, the girls really weren't exaggerating about her voice! It was like that of a ninety-year old woman, the youth and beauty sucked out of it, rough as an unsanded piece of wood and harsh as the wind of a tornado. On top of it all, there was something...unnatural to it that one could not help but flinch a little at it, as if they were shown a particularly gruesome wound.

"..haha.." Giggles erupted after a pause in time. The rest of the girls could not help but laugh, and at this Maria hung her head again.

"Quiet! Quiet!" The Sister attempted to calm the girls down, but it was plain that she was lenient towards them because Maria's voice was, indeed, terrible. By the time they had quieted it had become quite late, and the poor Sister had given up. As soon as she had given the dismissal the girls scurried over to where Cross was.

"Master Cross, you'll send us home, won't you?" The girls cried, their eyes a-glimmer with expectation. Cross smirked, putting a wistful smile on his face.

"I'm sorry ladies, but I have some business I must attend to." The girls' faces fell, but were soon replaced by those of understanding. "Take care though."

* * *

Cross walked outside in the opposite direction of the girls, meandering around the town, against the current of the sparse crowd. After all, there must have been some reason that the fogeys at Central and at the Order placed him on this mission, and missions entailed Akuma.

_Kachak._ The sound of a gun pointing sounded. He smirked.

"That was quite fast, huh, Akuma?" _Bang._ His anti-Akuma weapon, "Judgement", sounded, echoing around the walls. The Akuma crumbled to dust, and for a moment, as if he had noticed something, he turned back, and saw the hem of a washed out brown muslin dress turning around the corner hurriedly.

* * *

**I wish everyone a Happy New Year!**

**NOTE: There will not be and update next week, because it is New Years, and I need breaks (unbelievable, huh?), and I have a cold. A really bad one, I tell you. So please enjoy New Years, just note there will NOT be an update next week. Sorry for the inconvenience.**

**Note: Animandosi means to play animatedly and lively.**

**Reviews will, as always, be great.**

**See you again in the year of 2011!**


	21. Act Thirteen: Sempre

**I am really, really sorry. I know that I have neglected my readers for three weeks, and I apologize very deeply for doing so. Life, exams, and lack of sleep entailed those three weeks, I assure you. Please find room within your very wide hearts to forgive this author. But now I present you, the next chapter of Mana and the Fourteenth.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

**Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

* * *

_Plink, plunk, plonk. _A piano in the spotlight played joyfully, resounding throughout the walls.

"How do you like it, Earl?" A handsome youth with jaunty hair asked from the shadows. The Earl looked up from his playing.

"I like it very much, Fourteenth-kun -3. May I ask you to do the same for our little project?"

"Oh, the Ark?" The Fourteenth asked, surprised, then broke into a grin. "I think that could hardly be called a 'little project', Earl."

"Hmm." The Earl placed a fat finger on his teeth as he got up from the piano seat, only to knock it over. "Oh my -3." He commented. The Fourteenth merely smiled.

"Maybe you should go on a diet, Earl. Otherwise you can probably destroy the exorcists, God, and the world put together with just your weight."

"My my, Fourteenth-kun. I do not need a diet -3" The Earl said, picking up the chair. "Your manners could be improved upon, or it might offend the world." The Fourteenth continued to smile as the Earl started to pick up is hat and looked around for his overcoat. "However, I do not have time to educate you in etiquette today. Plans are about, as usual." The Fourteenth smiled.

"Shall I go too, Earl?"

"No, Fourteenth-kun -3." The Earl fastened his coat on.

"Ok then. Don't push yourself too hard." The Fourteenth waved, smiling, then added, as if on an afterthought, "Earl, when are we going to appear in your scenario, Earl?" The Earl looked back, tipped his hat, and replied,

"When the time is right-3."

* * *

Cross sat on his bed in the inn, smoking a cigarette. His shirt was open, with his legs crossed, not bothering to take off his boots. He closed his eyes, but he knew what would happen. Footsteps were coming closer, subtly, but surely.

"Pah," he said softly to himself. _Knock, knock._ He turned towards the door and got up from the bed. _Klunk. Klunk. Klunk. _The sound of his boots coming in contact with the floor resounded. He put his back to the wall on the side of the door's hinges and slowly opened the door. The light from the hallway crept in as he did so, revealing the shadow of a young girl.

"And what brings a level-headed mademoiselle out to a coarse, brutish traveller's bedroom?" He asked, and from her shadow he could tell that she jumped. He decided to further intimidate her. "Huh, Maria?" He walked around the door, and Maria was in front of him, holding a kitchen knife in her hands, her lips pursed. Cross held his hands up, his lips in a smirk.

"Oh? How brave of you. But I'm not one to go down from a knife." He said softly, and deftly reached for her hand, attempting to knock the knife out of her hand. However, she anticipated it, dodging his hand and coming further into the room, away from the door. The knife was still pointed towards Cross. Not turning his back to her, he closed the door, cutting off the light. The room was only lit with the moonlight streaming through from the window, and that was the only thing that separated the two people.

"Dell vee." She whispered, her chest heaving, her face scrunched in what looked like pain from concentration.

"Tell you what, darling?" Cross chuckled, lunging for the knife once more, deftly, with his arm. He knew that she would not swing the knife about; the knife was only a coercive tool, after all. But to his surprise, she ducked and dashed forward, going in between his arms and putting herself at his chest, the knife at his throat.

"Feisty one, aren't you?" He said, smiling. Her eyes were half-crazed with fear and anger.

"Yuu no, gon'qu? Zoze Vonzders, wvat gzey arr?" He flinched at her voice, and at this her beautiful face pained, but she did not release her grip on the knife. "Unzwerr!" She demanded softly.

"What monsters, dear?" He asked condescendingly. "Some bad dream? Here, let me comfort you." He swiftly took her hand in his, and twisted the knife out of her hands. The knife clattered to the floor. Realizing what had happened, Maria struggled, but to no avail. Cross was holding her in place, in total control.

"If you give me a kiss I'll tell you, sweetheart." He said, using one of his hands to lift her chin up. Her eyes flared with anger, and he felt immense pain as she brought her knee up, kicking a certain part of him that he was not expecting. He doubled over from the pain, releasing her hands, and staggered slightly. She darted forward for the knife, but he put his boot leg on top of the knife first. He _was_ a trained exorcist, after all. She backed a few steps to the window.

_Hah. Hah._ He had not been expecting this much from her. He stepped towards her.

"Zzdop!" She said softly, defeat almost in her eyes. He smiled scornfully.

"Why should I do that, my lady?" Her eyebrows creased at this, but she opened the window (she must have unlatched it while he was still getting up) and put one leg out.

"Efu yuu Kannot dell ve,... Ai vwill jjahmmp owt." Her voice was trembling as she took in short, almost sobbing breaths. "Zoze vonzders, gzey... arr alvayeez avder vee. Dell vee, orr Ai vwill jjahmmp!" She was clever, Cross had to give her that. She was threatening suicide if he didn't tell her about the Akuma. But he was faster than she. He knew it. Then he realized something.

"Wait, they're always after you?" He asked. Could she be..? She started to cry.

"Yuu Kkannod Elp vee." Dejected, she faced the window and put her other leg over, preparing to fall to her death. You cannot help me. What the hell? He did _not _want to be told that by her.

"Damn!" Cross said under his breath as he darted forward. As he reached the window her body left the window. Fortunately he grabbed onto her wrist. Her eyes met his angrily from below.

"Zzdop id! Ai vwill dy adyvays, zo ledd eet ve vy my hhannD!" She said as she struggled to have him let go.

"You idiot! Fine, I'll help you, alright? I'll help you, so live!" Cross said, his face strained in a frown. She'd rather kill herself than let an Akuma do it? God, could this woman be any more difficult? Finally, Cross hauled her up. Panting, they sat on the ground of Cross' room.

"You...crazy..woman.!" Cross finished his sentence through his gasps for air. Maria wobbled to her feet, and started for the window again. Cross caught on this time though, and brought her down, locking her in with between his arms and chest.

"You goddam insane woman! Fine, I'll promise." He said grimly. "I promise you that I'll protect you from those monsters, alright? And I can, like you saw that night." He could not believe that he, Cross Marian, was seriously reassuring this woman, of all the women there was, that he would protect her. Just what _was_ this woman? "And I'll tell you about them. Soon. I will, alright? So don't die. Don't die, you hear me? Hey, answer!" He stared intently at her, and although she had her head lowered, he saw her nod. Her hand reached his shirt, grabbing the cloth.

"Ai bromize." She said softly, tears streaming down her face. Cross sighed softly, cradling the crying girl in his arms.

"Good."

* * *

**I will update every week after this unless I say otherwise, I promise! **

**Sempre means always in music terms (usually put together with an adjective within music)**

**Thanks for reading! reviews are always appreciated!**


	22. Act Fourteen: Senza

** Happy Valentine's Day to you all!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

**Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy! (I appreciate feedback)**

* * *

"Can you _believe_ Maria?"

"I _know_, right? Not only take Peter, but Master Cross as well?"

"_I_ think she snuck a love potion or is absorbed in some sort of witchcraft."

Rumours circulated once word got out that Maria went into Cross' room at night, and they were none too positive about the couple. Cross didn't care what the village idiots thought, because, frankly, Maria was more interesting than the lot of them put together. When she spoke soft enough, which was very soft, her voice actually was coherent and understandable, and although it retained that unearthly tone to it that made her voice sound not of this world, Cross was beginning to feel that due to that quality her voice was unusually beautiful. Cross did not explain to her what Akuma were and the minor details of it, as he felt that her connection with the Innocence should be figured out first, but true to his promise, after that night Cross accompanied Maria in all activities.

"You really don't have to, you know." She shyly murmured when he came to help her with her chores in the inn.

"I don't see any other activities that might possibly interest me more right now." He replied sarcastically. "And anyways," He continued, "If I broke my promise so early, God knows what a woman like you would do." At this, she made a grudging smile as she finished her sweeping of the inn floor. Cross took the broom from her and put it away. He looked back and asked,

"So, where are we off to today?" Maria smiled, putting a finger to her lips and took his hand, leading him to a destination. Since Cross had come, their daily routine had been to finish Maria's chores and then go spend time at some obscure place on the island, with Maria being the guide. It was a very languid and carefree way to spend their days, but it kept them from too much of the scrutiny of the village people in one day. Cross rather liked this lazy feeling, and wished it could continue forever.

They walked out of the town, towards the clearing that existed in between the town and the edge of the island. She led him to the shoreline that wasn't that far off from a cliff. On the clearing, just as the grass turned to the sandy shore, there was an assortment of wildflowers that butterflies flocked around, dancing languidly around the petals. The shore branched into the lake that surrounded the island, and some rocks were seen coming through from the clear water's bottom to the surface of the water. Maria waded into the water and climbed up onto one of the bigger, flatter rocks located in the shallow end. She looked back to the rather bewildered Cross and motioned for him to come. Cross made a face as he also waded into the water.

"Now look what you've done." He complained. "My clothes and boots are wet!" Maria just laughed, and pulled off her laced shoes, wiggling her toes in the air. Cross did the same, turning his boots upside down to get the water out of his boots. The sun warmed their backs and dried them out as they sat there on the cool rock. Maria pulled at Cross' shirt and pointed. Cross looked at what she was pointing at. Beyond the shore, where the array of wildflowers was growing, there were butterflies that fluttered about.

"Are you pointing at those butterflies?" He asked. "Do you like them?" Maria nodded, and put a finger in the water, wetting it. She formed a letter with the moisture of the water onto the surface of the rock, and repeated the process until she had formed a word.

"R...E..D...oh, they're red, now, are they?" Cross said as she nodded. They sat in peace for a few moments. "Do you come here often?" He asked offhandedly. She repeated the process with the water, and when Cross bent over to read it, it read "My favourite place."

* * *

Time seemed to stand still, or at least go slowly for Cross. Here, there was no mission, no Order, but peace. Maybe this was what he had been searching for. Weeks were going by as happily and lazily as that day of the butterflies, time flowing naturally without any hurry. However, Cross was not a love-stricken idiot. He had noticed that the Akuma attacks had not come in a while, and so he suspected one to come, one with more Akumas. In preparation for that, Cross was planning to leave with Maria.

"Those monsters are going to come again and this time they might harm the village. We might want to leave before then." Was his explanation to her. She frowned.

"Why do those monsters come?" She asked quietly. Cross furrowed his brows, and put a hand on her head.

"It's not your fault." Was all he replied, but he could still see the unease brewing within her.

* * *

In preparation, they went shopping the next day at the trading market near the port. Maria wore a scarf over her head to keep herself inconspicuous, but it was unnecessary. There were so many people in the market that people hardly noticed who went by. Cross bought two automatic, normal guns. Maria looked at him worriedly, but he just replied "For additional protection."

To lighten the mood, Cross went to a woman's dress shop, where he started to look through dresses for Maria.

"Here, I think this'll suit you." He smiled, holding up a bright red dress. He leaned over to hear her answer.

"Really?" She asked hesitantly. "It's red...isn't that the colour of... prostitution?" He smiled, laughing at this. She blushed.

"Just think of it that you're those butterflies that you like so much. You know, those black and red ones. With your black hair and this red dress, you'll be Maria the red butterfly fairy or whatever. Anyhow, it'll compliment your looks more than that brown thing you always wear." Now it was her turn to laugh, although quietly.

* * *

They decided to take one last day to go to the place they had nicknamed the 'butterfly place' before they left. Maria wore the red dress with much blushing and embarrassed expressions, in which Cross teased her for. She ran ahead and he saw her waving at him, her face in a smile. Cross's face grudgingly also broke into a smile before following her. Maria showed him the butterflies up close, and Cross identified them as ruby spotted swallowtails. Then they waded into the water and went on the rock to bask in the sun. They sat, talking about random, unimportant things without a care in the world, when-

_Boom._ A loud sound, almost as if from a cannon, resounded throughout the air. All the birds in trees flew out immediately.

_Boom. Boom. Boom._ The sound repeated itself, and it continued. It only took a few seconds for Cross to realize what it was. Akuma attack. Maria looked at the smoke billowing into the sky, and she jumped off the rock into the water, wading to the shore. Cross followed suit as she continued, running towards the village. He took 'Judgement' out.

Maria ran to the tallest hill on the island, the one that led to the cliff near the butterfly place, to see what had happened. When she stopped and Cross had caught up, the sight that met their eyes were of ruin and flames. People were running and screaming everywhere. Cross clicked the safety off 'Judgement'.

"Maria, I'm going to go in and get rid of those monsters, but you need to stick close to me." He said, loud enough so that she could hear. There was no reply. "Maria!" He turned to look at her.

She was clutching her neck, as if trying to hide it, her face looking at the ground.

"Maria, look at me-" He pried her hands off of her neck, to see-

_No!_

-a cross glowing, illuminating from inside her skin on her neck. Innocence.

He stared at her in wonder. "Maria, you-"

_Don't look at me! _An ethereal voice screamed. It was her voice, but it was different.

Cross, furrowing his brow, reached towards her. "Maria, listen. Come with me. Now."

_No!_ She screamed. Her hands were on her neck and face, as if trying to shield the bright light of the cross coming from her throat. _I look like a monster! Go away!_

Cross grabbed her hand. "What are you talking about?" Her hands shook with terror. He looked behind him, and dozens of Akuma were coming. He furrowed his brows. He wasn't going to be able to take them all on. He swore as he raised 'Judgement', preparing to fire, but before he fired, a string of music was heard from behind him. He whipped around, and saw Maria singing, the mark on her neck glowing mystically, and realized. Her Innocence was reacting to the Akuma. Damn, why didn't he realize it before? She was one of the users of Innocence. Her voice, her neck, her loneliness, they were all due to the Innocence.

Cross cursed to the sky as he shot 'Judgement' with reckless abandon.

* * *

Her voice was clear and made a clear melody, spreading across the sky and restraining the Akuma's movement, making it easier for him to aim. His shots were the beat, taking down the Akuma. It was Innocence, for sure. She had the voice of an angel, and her voice was purifying the world of Akuma. Even long after the Akuma were destroyed and the song was over, leaving a hollow, empty silence, but within his mind the song was still playing, and it was so beautiful that Cross didn't even realize that he had fallen down from exhaustion.

_Cross? _Maria's brittle Innocence voice called. _Cross?_

His eyes opened, and Maria was bending over him, her face white with terror, her hand outstretched. Her neck was still slightly glowing. He stood up and looked around. The Akuma were all gone. In relief Cross hugged Maria. At that moment he did not care about anything besides her.

"...beautiful." He croaked as tears inexplicably came out of his eyes. He felt her relax a bit, but he could feel the unrest within her.

_Cross, what happened?_

He smoothed her hair, and opened his mouth to explain, when she let out a small cry. He looked at the way she was looking, and he saw the village people in the far off distance, and then, as if the cries were amplified, they heard the voices, angry and calling for revenge.

"It's all her fault!"

"She called them here. She did, with her wretched voice!"

"We should have chased her away from this village as soon as we found out about her voice!"

"She was cursed. Cursed, I tell you!"

"Devil!"

"Monster!"

"Kill that monster! The she-devil that brought destruction upon us!" Tears fell down Maria's face as she heard those words, and she yanked away from Cross' embrace.

Cross ran towards Maria. "Maria, don't listen to them! You are-"

_No! _Her voice was crying and her face was filled with despair. _Why? What happened? Cross, I'm scared. What were those monsters? Why me? Am I a monster? Am I different?_

"Maria! If you are a monster, then what does that make me? Come back here!"

_No...no...I don't understand...Cross, I don't know anymore._ She was backing away with terror in her eyes towards the edge of a cliff. Cross darted forward, running as fast as he could towards her. But just as he had reached the edge, her feet fell from the cliff, and he saw her fall, her eyes open in incomprehensible pain and confusion. He recklessly jumped off as well, attempting to soften her fall in a futile attempt against gravity. The next thing he knew, he was in the ocean. The feeling of the surface of the water coming in contact with his body was painful, as if the water was rejecting him, and numbed him. When he came around and opened his eyes, he was on the surface. Cross looked around, and saw Maria not too far off from where he had landed. He swam desperately, and when he arrived, he gritted his teeth until his cheek began to bleed. There was a pool of red water around the area where she lay, where her head had hit the rocks in a bloody mess. The blood coming out of her head could have been described as a red flower as it coloured her forehead and it made her face paler and paler, blossoming a deeper shade of red.

Dazedly, he looked about him, and red butterflies were flying about the flowers. It was the secret place that Maria had shown him a few days ago, a peaceful place, had it not been for the corpse that floated in the water now. The ruby spotted swallowtails lazily went around the grasses and the water, oblivious to the tragedy. The sun was so bright, shining within the azure blue sky. Cross wanted it all to disappear. Everything. He wasn't naive enough to wonder how the world could keep going about its daily business as a beloved person lay dead, but he wanted it all to disappear. The world was apathetic to an individual's emotions after all, and cared nought at all for the people who would come and go, never to return. Cross gently brought Maria's corpse off the rock and held it close to him, sitting inside the shallow water even as his feet began to become cold from the water. Cross's eyes were bloodshot as he continued to stare at the surface of the water. The world held virtually nothing.

"Oh, what a pity -3." A playful voice said behind him. Cross turned his head slightly, and saw a fat clown floating above the surface of the water. The Millennium Earl. Cross dragged his heavy body up to stand, still carrying Maria in his arms.

"What brings you here, fatty?" Cross asked, sneering. Any feeling except mirth had left him as soon as Maria had died. Before he had met Maria, his apathy had been growing, emotions detaching from within him from contempt. He had nothing now. Loathing would not bring Maria back, even if the fat prig was the one that made it happen.

"My -3 ! Cross-cha~n, you are very rude, for having just met me -3. I came to kill your mistress right there, of course." The Earl said, smiling even more, if that was at all possible. "Of course, I didn't expect that she would kill _herself _-3. That was surprising, wasn't it?" The Earl placed a finger to his teeth. "After all, it wasn't Akuma that killed her, but _humans_ -3." The smile on the Earl's face was a sinister smile. "Now, she's liberated from the Innocence that caused her so much pai-"

_Bang._

"Oh my -3. You'll have to do better than that, Cross-cha~n, if you want to hurt me. -3" The Earl commented, feeling the hole that Cross' bullet had made within his hat. Cross laughed dryly, tossing the automatic gun he had bought a few days ago into the water.

"I just felt sorry for you, blathering on about nothing, so I decided to give you a surprise."

"Oh? -3" The Earl said, amused. "You are a strange child, Cross-cha~~~~n -3."

_Bang._

"Another surprise? -3" The Earl asked. "Too bad it missed. Unless you're blind, I'm not on that cliff, Cross-cha~n."

Cross didn't answer, but instead smiled, holding up a second automatic gun to where he had aimed previously. _Bang._ He had shot towards the cliff where Maria had fallen from, and continued to shoot in that direction. _Bang. Bang. Bang. _

_Plunk._ A piece of gravel came down upon the Earl's hat, right into the hole that Cross had made within it before. Cross lit a cigarette. _Plunk._ Another, bigger chunk of gravel came down into the water.

"Oh? -3 Clever, clever." The Millennium Earl chanted, feeling his head. He looked at Cross. "Well then, let us meet again, Cross- cha~~~~~n-3." Hi eyes glinted as he disappeared.

Cross slumped back into the water, sitting down once again. He let out a billow of smoke, and looked down at Maria's face. It was pure white, her face an eerie presence of nothing. She had closed her eyes during the fall, so it almost looked as if she were sleeping. He smiled wistfully. She was wearing the red dress that he had given her, the one that made her look robust and full of life. Now that was no more. When it got too cold Cross staggered out of the water with her body and sat on the shore for who knows how long. When he noticed it was evening, the sun creeping towards the horizon. Empty, and feeling hollow, he sat in a stupor.

* * *

_Bzzt._ He looked up to see one of the Order's bugs. A golem.

"Cross Marian." The golem said in its electronic voice. "You have destroyed your previous golem. Report upon your mission to find the Innocence. Make sure to retrieve it at all costs." Innocence. He let out a huff of derision. That's all they cared about. Innocence.

"Ha!" He said, spitting out the word. "Hahahaha." He covered his face as he laughed silently. People could die, fall into despair, and all they care about is the Innocence. Of course. He reached out with his hand and crushed the golem deftly. After the golem fell, he then crushed the cigarette he was smoking onto its remains, using it as an ashtray. He sat for a long time, smoking every now and then, his eyes occasionally drooping to go into a sleep that entailed a meadow full of butterflies.

* * *

"Cross Marian." A clear voice, full of cheer, called his name. He opened his eyes, and disinterestedly turned his head. He found himself staring at a young boy garbed in a striking black cape, floating in midair. The boy smiled.

"Would you like to bring her back?"

* * *

**Note: Senza means 'without', again used with some other word to indicate to the musician to play without a certain emotion or characteristic.**

**It seems I fail at trying to even update biweekly, so I'll just update when I can. Sorry for the inconvenience.**

**Happy Valentine's day!**

**Reviews would be nice. ^^**


	23. Act Fifteen: Accompagnato

**Hi. It's certainly been a while, hasn't it? Ahahahahaha. -_- I apologize for the great delay. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

**Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy! (I appreciate feedback)**

* * *

The Fourteenth hummed a tune as he sat at the windowsill. He closed his eyes, searching for an entrance into Road's dimension. Sound penetrated walls of the imaginary sort so easily, he mused as he slipped through into the chasms of Road's dimension. The Fourteenth passed the usual rooms of Road's hobbies; checkered floorboards, candles, and the like. But he did not care for these. He continued searching, continuing to hum, looking, trying to detect. He smiled, chuckling when he found it moments later. He slid through the door.

A wizened man sat, crouched upon the floor, huddled in fear. When the man noticed the Fourteenth's presence, he immediately let out a small shriek and scrambled backwards, edging towards the wall. The man's face was a mask of horror; on the brink of the abyss of insanity. He was devoid of any emotion but fear, emaciated, nothing of what he once was.

"My, you have become quite old, haven't you?" The Fourteenth snickered, covering his laugh with his hand. "It's been what, fifteen years since then? So Road _did_ keep her promise...I'll have to reward her for that..." He said, trailing off. The man showed no sign of comprehension, but reacted to the words with terror, clawing on the walls as if for an escape. The Fourteenth directed his attention once more to the man.

"Oh, yes." The Fourteenth said, "I must not forget what I came here to do amongst my reminiscing." He stared at the man with a serious expression, and started to hum, peacefully, melodically. The shadows that he had once called naively the 'shadow-buddies' swarmed around the man, engulfing him, almost suffocating him. The man's eyes turned wide in horror even as he did not know what was happening. The Fourteenth opened his mouth.

"You shall become the Carrier of the Will of the Fourteenth." He added, with a smirk, "Father Luke." But at this point the man could no longer hear him.

* * *

"Mana," The Fourteenth called. A man in his late twenties stepped out from behind the curtain. The Fourteenth sighed in an exaggerated way. "You don't have to be that scared, you know. I made it so that you can't be detected." Mana's face remained impassive as he gazed at his brother, who looked the same as the day fifteen years ago, the mirror image of the boy who stole bread with him from a vendor in the memories long past.

"You hadn't come back in a while. It's been three months since you went to reconnoitre and get in contact with Cross." Mana said quietly. "Aren't you tired?" The Fourteenth looked up at him, slightly surprised, then he grinned.

"I'll take a nap after this, don't you worry, Mana." Mana's face was still that of concern.

"What's your next plan, Fourteenth?" He asked, his voice worn down and tired.

"Mana~~~! You don't have to call me that." The Fourteenth said, whining as he smiled. "We're brothers, aren't we?" Mana sighed, his face breaking into a tiny smile. The Fourteenth smiled at him as he plopped himself on an armchair like a kid. His face turned serious.

"It's coming, all right. That day, it's definitely coming."

* * *

Cross Marian's hair was carried by the breeze as the ship he was on carried him over the sea. However, he was not looking at the sea and its seagulls, or the sun in the deep blue sky. He stood there, on deck, looking at the brand-new coffin that leaned against the side of the deck next to him. He smoked, letting the tendrils of the smoke curl into the air and dissipate. He stared at the coffin for a while, contemplating, until a yellow blob with wings got out of his pocket and started to fly around. He glanced at it, thinking back to the boy's words on that day three months ago.

"_This is Timcampi. He's a shadow, and he'll serve as the communication between us."_

"_What would you need to communicate to me for?"Cross asked, suspicious. "If he's caught..." The boy laughed._

"_That won't happen. He was made by me."_

Cross' eyebrows twisted into a frown, remembering the whole incident. He took another puff from his cigar as the yellow blob

Timcampi landed on his shoulder. The words spoken then were still clear to him, almost as if it had been said to him just a second ago.

"_Would you like to bring her back?" Those words rung in the silence as the boy had spoken it. There was a silence._

"_Who the fuck do you think you are, the Millennium Earl?" Cross snarled. "Get the hell away from me before I kill you." He took out his anti Akuma weapon 'Judgement', taking the safety off it with a click. The boy merely smiled._

"_No, no. My 'bringing her back' is different. You get to use her Innocence by reviving her corpse. Her soul is not included in this bargain." The boy said, explaining like a know-it-all. Cross glared at him, not trusting this stranger._

"_Who are you?" He asked, suspicious._

"_I am the Fourteenth, a Noah." The boy answered coolly._

"_What does a Noah want with me?" The Fourteenth smiled._

"_Oh, so you've heard of my kind. I'm offering a bargain with you. I am one who wants to bring down the Millennium Earl, and be the one to put an end to his eternal loneliness. If you side with me, I will teach you sorcery, revive her corpse, thus giving you two anti-Akuma weapons at your disposal, and bring down the Millennium Earl. Not a bad trade, I think." Cross narrowed his eyes._

"_Yeah, but I'm with the Order, and the Order can bring down the Millennium Earl as well. Where's the need for me to join with you?" The Fourteenth laughed._

"_The Order?" He laughed. "Putting aside how that would happen, what will the Order do once the Millennium Earl is dead and the Akuma eradicated? They will take over the regions with their 'religion'; they will be no different." Cross took a moment to consider this, and answered, slowly._

"_And you're saying the future that you offer is better? You haven't yourself said what you would do once you defeat the Earl."_

"_That is true. I shall not tell you, except for the fact that I shall become the Millennium Earl." The Fourteenth played with the yellow feathered thing resting on his shoulder, as if he was merely discussing the weather. "However, after I have killed the Millennium Earl, you will be free from this contract. Meaning," His eyes glinted as he stared back at Cross, "You'd be free to kill me if you wish. So, how about it?"_

_Cross stared at the boy who claimed to be the Fourteenth Noah, a mere child whose black hair would not lie flat. The church would only ever care for their own interests without any regard to the victims. He knew that. The Millennium Earl...they might as well be the same. The irony of it all; the morbidity. He laughed to the sunny sky._

"_Ahahahahahahaha! This is just great." He looked up at the Fourteenth, who was smiling an enigmatic smile, his hand outstretched. "I take that offer." Cross said._

The Fourteenth did not lie, at least that time. He had held up his bargain of teaching Cross sorcery and reviving Maria's corpse. Cross recalled the last he had seen of the Fourteenth, slipping into a puddle in the middle of the air; vanishing. Cross let out another puff of smoke from his cigar.

* * *

"The pieces have all assembled." The Fourteenth mumbled tiredly as he smiled, once again for what must have been the millionth time. Mana looked at his brother, who was on the brink of sleep as his eyelashes fluttered. The boy, had he grown up, would have had the face of their mother, he reflected. He patted the Fourteenth's head until he went to sleep.

"Goodnight, brother."

* * *

**Hee hee hee... if you remember in the manga, in the 157th night, there's a witness that Rouvelier ( that how you spell his name?) mentions. Can you guess who it is?**

**Note: A****ccompagnato means to follow the soloist.**

******I hope you've enjoyed! The next one (hopefully) should come soon!**


	24. Act Sixteen: Deciso

**Hello! I'm going to be away next week, so you can probably expect the next chapter to be sometime tomorrow or the day after, since this is such a short chapter. I'd been reading Stieg Larsson's trilogy and forgot about posting. ^^;**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

**Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy! (I appreciate feedback)**

* * *

Dawn broke on the surface of the town of Edo. A farmer stretched as he got up to go work at the rice paddy, wearing his usual worn out clothes and strapping a basket to his back. He left the house after eating soupy rice, his wife and children greeting him as they, too, got ready to go to their places for the day. Just as she was leaving, the mother of the children noticed the bundle of onigiri she had made for her husband that he had forgotten.

"Mariko!" She called out to her youngest child. "Your father forgot his onigiris, bring them to him." She instructed.

"Hai." The young girl replied, "I'll go bring it to Otou-san then." With a _patter-pit_ she ran out, barefoot, into the outdoor, chasing her father who was a distance away. Suddenly, there was a magnificent sound and a bright light, obliterating her father from her view.

"Eh? Otou...san?" The girl asked, confused. The ground where he had been standing minutes before was cooked, leaving tendrils of smoke to curl into the air. Nothing was left. The girl ran towards it, baffled, before running back to the house.

"Okaa-san, Otou-san disappeared!" She yelled, still puzzled. _BOOM._ The house was gone in another light, this time the noise was so loud that the force of it burst the little girl's eardrums, spurts of blood erupting. A look of terror gripped her face as she touched her bloodstained ears.

"Okaa-san..?" _BOOM. _Those were the last words that she uttered in her short life before she, too, was erased by the light from above.

* * *

"The Earl really stepped it up a bit, didn't he~?" Everett said as he whistled, looking about the place of whitewashed rooms and houses. "To make something like this, and in Edo, of all places, too!"

"Yeah." Road agreed, licking a large lollipop. "The Fourteenth had a rather large hand in it too, I think. Not to mention Japan's isolation policy makes it a fine breeding place for Akuma." The Fiddler leaned back a bit as he listened to her.

"The Fourteenth's a fine fellow, if you don't mind me saying." He said, tipping his hat at an angle, grinning. "The Master's happy with him, he gets along with us, not to mention his powers are pretty cool."

"Not happy, why, Count Millennium is basically treasuring him, ain't he?" Joyd said, taking long strides and making a funny face at Road. Road, noticing this, hit him with the lollipop. "What the- Road!"

"Well, of course. I mean, he's the anomaly who we're not sure whether he'd resurrect in the next life, after all. The Master's taking precautions." Wisely said, yawning. Then he paused. "Joyd, did you just notice this now?"

"You're so dense." Road said, following up on Wisely's comment.

"What?" Joyd gaped as the others laughed. Lustful sniffed into her handkerchief, twirling her sun umbrella impatiently.

"Well I suppose that the Fourteenth has been running about in gutters, as he has always been, to garner for the Master's attention." She proceeded to walk away.

"What's with her?" Joyd asked. Wisely laughed.

"Well, she's always been trying to be the Master's favourite, after all."

"Jealousy?" Road asked, dubiously. "That's seriously lame. Earl Millennium loves us all equally." Desires stopped walking, closing his eyes and opening them again.

"Is that so..."

"Ev-er-ett!" Road called out. "We're going to leave you behind!" Everett looked up from his reverie, laughed, and walked faster to catch up.

* * *

Within the fine lines and passageways of the Ark, a shadow stirred. The Akuma patrolling gazed back a bit, and, as it saw nothing, walked away. The shadow, although invisible to the eyes, kept going, crawling, its eyes unfocused, body only moving to accomplish the ambitions of its puppeteer.

* * *

**Note: deciso means to play decisively.**

**Hai is yes. Okaa-san means mother, Otou-san means father. Onigiri is Japanese for rice ball.**

**Although it was a REALLY short chapter, I hope you've enjoyed. If you haven't, a much more fulfilling and exciting one will come within the next two days! **

**Please Review, it makes me inexplicably motivated (Thank you Bananas)!**


	25. Act Seventeen: a bene placito

**As promised.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

**Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy! (I appreciate feedback)**

* * *

"Whoa, what's this, Fourteenth?" Road said, puzzled as the Fourteenth came in with a bag full of candy. The Fourteenth smiled mischievously.

"Present." He answered, grinning as he overturned the bag. "For you." Road's eyes shined as she took in the sight of the copious amounts of candy that had fallen to the ground. She picked up a strawberry patterned piece.

"Where'd you get these, Fourteenth?" She asked curiously.

"I had a lot of spare time on my hands." He replied, winking. "Since my only mission by the Earl is to keep the ark up and moving." Road made a face.

"I see, so while I'm up and about, going to school and everything, you've been frittering your day away, stealing candy? That's so not fair. I even have homework!" She said, throwing the English book in her lap up, as if to emphasize her point. The Fourteenth laughed at this, and started to drag the bag towards her.

"But you can read and everything, right? I can barely just do that. Anyways, if I went to school it'll be a waste of time, because I'll fail every subject." Road looked up from her book.

"Liar." She paused for a second, looking at the Fourteenth's grin with a frown. "You probably would ace everything, it's just you won't care enough to." The Fourteenth laughed again.

"Maybe." He sat down at the foot of Road's armchair. There was a pause as he looked off into space.

"Fourteenth, why don't we call you by your actual name?" Road's blunt question hung in the air. The Fourteenth looked up, his face expressionless.

"Whoa, that's a random question." Road scowled.

"Answer it."

"Does it bother you?"

"Not really, I thought it was just weird."

"He-eh." The Fourteenth snaked his arm up behind himself and, by feel, patted Road lightly on the head.

"What are you doing?" Road asked as he continued to pat her head. The Fourteenth turned to face her, impassive.

"Good child, good child." He said monotonously as he did so. Road looked at him with an irritated expression.

"...You really are weird, Fourteenth."

"...I know."

"..."

"Are you going to school tomorrow?"

"Nope, got a mission from the Earl."

"I see." The Fourteenth started to whistle softly, leaving his hand on Road's head.

* * *

"Hey." Road said, after a while.

"What?" The Fourteenth answered listlessly.

"Do you understand the Earl, Fourteenth?" The Fourteenth looked at her questioningly.

"Understand the Earl?" He repeated the question and paused, as if to prolong the meaning of it. "Maybe. I've never thought of it." Silence fell again. "Why?"

"Nothing." Road said, opening a wrapper and popping the candy into her mouth. "I thought that you just might, that's it."

"Hmmm." After a while, the Fourteenth got up and stood, walking to the door.

"Road." He called. Road looked up lazily.

"You can call me by my name. I'm okay with that." _Ka-clack._ The door closed.

* * *

The Millennium Earl was sitting on the piano bench, his back leaning slightly back to accommodate his bulbous stomach. He was sitting before the great organ piano, his back turned against it. He looked towards the doors that led to the room. Musical notes circled on staffs above, in unison and perfect harmony. The Millennium Earl paid no attention to all this. Within the micro chasms of his twisted brain, the Millennium Earl was pondering. At least, he thought so. Or was it in the abyss of his righteous brain? It never struck him that he was righteous. Was he?

"Earl-tama, are you okay- lero?" The umbrella, which had been laying on the ground, said concernedly. The Earl cocked his head.

"Why do you ask, Lero?" His smile was unchanging, or should be unchanging.

"You seemed troubled-lero. You have snot running from your nose-lero." Lero replied, sweat pouring from his head as he looked at the Earl.

"Oh my -3" The Earl said, taking out a handkerchief. "Is it a cold?" He blew his nose, scattering the snot onto Lero. Lero fled in fear. _Creak._ The door opened, and the two looked up.

"So this is where you were, Earl." The Fourteenth popped his head out from behind the door, and came in. "Oh, what's this? Lero, you didn't get abducted by Road today?" At this, Lero's face grew red and the Fourteenth stuck his fingers into his ears as Lero's mouth opened in retaliation.

"Of course not, Lerorororooo!" Paying no heed, the Fourteenth turned his face to the Earl.

"Are you taking a break today from work, Earl?"

"Something of the sort, Fourteenth-kun."

"Haha, then do you want to play a game of cards with me, Earl?" The Fourteenth walked towards the grand piano, touching the keys lightly, a smile on his face. The Earl did not answer. For some time, the room was quiet. Even Lero had stopped spouting inane protests. The Fourteenth leaned his back on the Earl's back.

"It's snowing outside." The Fourteenth looked over at him. "Are you tired, Earl?"

"Apocryphos is on the move again." The Earl said, almost to himself. "That hidden monster..." For a moment, the clownish features of the Earl disappeared, leaving behind a middle-aged black haired man wearing a trench coat. The man had an eternal face about him, tired with hints of a beard about to grow. The Fourteenth glanced back at him, his eyelashes downcast, almost covering his eyes, and opened his mouth slightly, as if to say something, then closed it. They stared into space for a time, saying nothing. Time flowed mindlessly, a stream that could never be dammed.

* * *

The shadow kept on moving, dragging itself into twisted depths.

_Here,_ its puppeteer dictated. _Here is good. _The shadow stopped moving, crouching into a fetal position, its eyes open wide with terror. Slowly, spirit-like shadows enveloped this shadow, and hid the flickering shadow away completely.

* * *

The Millenium Earl was thinking. He was lost within his own thoughts, so much that he had blocked out the Fourteenth's presence as the Fourteenth leaned against him. Apocryphos. That monster. The filthy tool of God. He will come for the Noahs. Yes, he will come. But he doesn't now, because he is a schemer. Yes, he schemes, he comes, and he will destroy them. Unless the Earl has anything to say about it. No, he, Adam, first Disciple of the Noah, will not allow it.

* * *

Mana stared out the window of his brother's room, looking to the outside world, as he had done for the past fifteen years, unless it had been for some miscellaneous job assigned by his little brother. He was older, nearing thirty in age. He snickered. To think he had kept count. In this place, at this time, age did not matter very much anymore. Even the birthday parties that his little brother did for him privately were almost meaningless, for there would be not birthday parties to celebrate for his little brother. The irony. He gripped the velvet curtain of the room, and held his own hand out to look at it.

"He said the time was soon, right? The Fourteenth..."

* * *

The Millenium Earl was tired. He was tired of his ever-changing followers and this never changing situation. A creeping whisper seemed to whisper that Apocryphos would come for the Noahs, and consume them. The Fourteenth had asked him, a while ago, when the Noah would finally be acting into his scenario. It would be soon, if all went according to plan. That would mean that they would all go, one by one. And Apocryphos...The Millennium Earl was at a loss. But the Fourteenth...the Fourteenth, Apocryphos must not touch. Yes, that was certain. That was why he had been careful with the Fourteenth from the beginning. It was a change from the pattern of the last seven thousand years. It was a sign.

_But he'll die, and then he won't come back...not like the others, he won't come back...won't come back...his existence would have changed nothing..._That nagging voice, that abominable whisper that came from his despairing, human side, spoke again. At this the Millennium Earl's heart felt like it was being pierced, and that feeling was only reinforced as something was plunged into his very back.

* * *

_Whooosh._ Cross Marian let out a puff of smoke as he exhaled. He had an uneasy feeling settling about in his stomach as he walked about the woods of Okinawa, an island off of mainland Japan. His silent follower followed him in her black garb, keeping the shield protecting them up. He looked at his yellow flying companion, Timcampi, and recalled the conversation that he and the Fourteenth had about it, many long months ago. It was a memory that he had replayed over and over, so much that it had begun to become dimmed and faded, like a book perused again and again.

"_This is Timcampi. He's a shadow, and he'll serve as the communication between us."_

"_What would you need to communicate to me for?"Cross asked, suspicious. "If he's caught..." The boy laughed._

"_That won't happen. He was made by me." _

Cross also remembered a part of the conversation that he had thought irrelevant, unneeded. At that time.

_The Fourteenth turned to leave._

"_You still haven't answered my first question, Fourteenth." The Fourteenth looked back, a grin on his face._

"_Oh? Don't worry, you can do as you wish, I won't hinder or order you around. Anyhow, Tim makes for a good companion."_

Companion...Cross snorted. Tim fluttered about him, as usual, sometimes resting on his shoulder.

"What is that guy thinking..."

* * *

The Earl looked at the Fourteenth, whose hand was stained red with blood. The Fourteenth had stabbed him. The Fourteenth. Blood started to seep from the wound on his back as he staggered back.

"Four..teenth?" The Fourteenth, who had had his eyes closed, opened his eyes slowly.

"Because, even sweet dreams have to end sometimes." The Fourteenth whispered, his voice low and his face unreadable. Shadows surrounded the Earl, threatening to consume him.

"How...dare you...FOURTEENTH!" Overcoming the initial shock, the Earl grabbed Lero's handle, pulling out his sword.

* * *

**a bene placito: up to the performer**


	26. Act Eighteen: Canon

**I took a bit of time on this one...the next one might come late next week. Thank you to **Omnomnom **(- like your name choice by the way XD) for reviewing. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

**Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy! (I appreciate feedback)**

* * *

Mana Walker looked up from his reverie. Something about the place had changed. It was a subtle little thing, almost insignificant. It was almost like an echo reverberating off the walls, a collective shriek of agony. It created an unsettling feeling within him. _Clack. _A footstep sounded behind him, and he whipped around. There, out of breath, was the Fourteenth.

"Four..teenth?" He asked, slightly bewildered. "What happened?"

"_Hah hah _Sorry... Mana," The Fourteenth said, smiling within gasps, "Darnit...the Earl's hard to kill, as expected..." After a few deep breaths, he straightened up. "We have to get out of here. My informant will let us out." Mana nodded as the Fourteenth called forth his sound creatures to conceal them. They went into the bubble the creatures made, away from the Earl.

* * *

"Master!" Lustful ran to the Earl, who was writhing on the ground, just as the other Noahs ran into the room through Road's door. The room was thick with the corpses of Akuma. In his back was an incision, and it was bleeding, creating a pool on the ground. "What happened?" The Earl was oblivious to her presence, as well as the others', only bemoaning the betrayal of the Fourteenth.

"...Fourteenth...why..." Within the Earl, turmoil was threatening to consume, dejection to overpower every other emotion. He, in his crazed mind, powered by the betrayal he had felt, had fought the Fourteenth, and even though they were almost equal in strength, the Fourteenth had disappeared a few seconds before the other Noahs arrived. Disappeared. The Earl had made sure that he knew where the Fourteenth was, made sure that he was safe from the likes of exorcist scum and Apocryphos. But the Fourteenth had disappeared, almost drowned, into a puddle of nothing in the air. He recalled the last words spoken to him by the Fourteenth, in his ever easygoing manner, almost as if he had just been telling the Earl about his day:

"_Don't ever forget, dear brother, that I will never stop targeting you until you die."_

* * *

"Get the Ark mobilized to find that traitor Fourteenth!" Lustful cried out, her face wild with anger. Road looked at Lustful, wary. But she knew the truth. The rest of the Noahs mobilized at once as she knelt down by the Earl, her eyes downcast, listening to the Earl.

"Fourteenth..."

* * *

No, it couldn't have been. The Fourteenth had said so himself. _I'll be by your side no matter what happens._ There could have been no way that the Fourteenth had done and plotted this all. The exorcist scum must have poisoned the Fourteenth against him. Yes, that was more plausible._Don't push yourself too hard._ There was no way that the Fourteenth alone...that thought alone angered and made the Earl distraught.

All of the Noah were bound to him by their oaths, prepared to die for him and be used by him in their plans. The Earl was sure of it; he had no qualms about them at all. Their relationship, one between his cute 'children', the Noah, and he, was based upon that allegiance they had sworn to him in the first generation. That alone would never change; it was the very foundation of their existence. The Fourteenth, however, was different. He was not there, and so there was always an uncertainty. The Earl did not know whether he could trust the Fourteenth, but there was not a moment's worth of doubt within him that the Fourteenth was a Noah. The Fourteenth fascinated him. The Earl, when met with the Fourteenth, had been curious. The Earl had not been curious about very much for the past seven thousand years, much less curious about what he actually wanted to know. The Fourteenth, unlike the other Noah, who wanted to understand him, the Earl, seemed to already do so without trying.

"There must have been someone..." The Earl whispered with malice in an inaudible tone. One of the Exorcist scum... But they had to find him first. And when that someone is found...

"Find him..." The Earl said, finally getting up. The other Noah glanced at his infuriated face, unable to meet his eye. Road, who stood shorter than him by a couple feet, looked up at him in worry. His face was a mask of unmistakable, unshakable fury. "Find that traitor and his friends!"

The Noah needed no second telling.

* * *

"It's taking longer than when the Fourteenth had used the Ark to navigate." Fiddler commented in a whisper. It was a few minutes later, when the Earl was plunking away at the piano to get the Ark to move. Lustful glared at him, as though trying to make him shut up.

"What do you expect? That traitor made this thing, after all." She hissed back with great distaste.

"Even so, it's taking too long." Wisely said, glaring darkly. "The Ark hasn't moved at all." He spoke a little louder than the rest, but it was a dawning revelation upon all of the Noah, including the Earl.

* * *

The Fourteenth smirked as he heard a faint, piercing scream. So they've figured it out. Ah well, it was only a matter of time. He looked out towards the ocean that they had just left.

"So where should we stay tonight?" His brother asked. They were already off the island of Japan, currently traipsing by a river somewhere in China. The Fourteenth looked at him oddly, then smiled.

"This is almost a reverse of what happened fifteen years ago, isn't it?" Mana closed his eyes.

"The situation's changed drastically, you know." Mana replied, brushing some of the hair out of his eyes. But the Fourteenth was not really listening as he was recollecting the past.

"Back when I was what, this tall?" He reached out his hand to mark the height when he stopped. "Oh wait, I'm still that height. Ha." Mana smiled ruefully, another wrinkle in his face, and reached out to mess up his little brother's hair.

"I can probably say the same for your maturity as well." Mana said teasingly. The Fourteenth responded by punching him lightly on the shoulder. A few moments passed as the scant happiness subsided and the air was tense again.

"We should get going."

* * *

"Has the Earl gone to bed?"

"Yeah, and I've sent the Akuma out to comb the areas." There was a pause. "It might take a bit, but we'll find him."

"...Hey, Joyd?" In the shadow, Road looked up at Joyd. His face was set in a tired grin.

"Yeah, Road?" She closed her eyes. She thought of the Fourteenth.

"...Sorry, nothing."

* * *

The Earl was dreaming. Dreaming, when it all changed. It was a repeat of what happened. A nightmare.

_The Fourteenth launched on, unafraid. He was even grinning as he raised his hand and created a sword-like edge with his shadows._

_Clang. The two, sword and arm, caused sparks to appear as they made contact, the Earl and the Fourteenth. The contact lasted only for a moment as they went separate ways. The Fourteenth deftly turned around as his foot hit the floor. The Earl created electric orbs with his hands and launched them towards the Fourteenth, dashing with his sword afterwards. The Fourteenth dodged by jumping, pointing his arm downward to attack the Earl. Clang. The Earl read this; he parried with the sword. The Fourteenth raised his other arm to stab the Earl as the Earl used his other arm to launch an electric orb at the Fourteenth. _

_BOOM. Smoke filled the air as the orb made contact with the floor. The Earl launched on ahead, taking advantage of the smoke to attack. He swung his sword upon the figure standing in the smoke, only to see it disappear, jumping to the wall and launch itself at him. The Earl dodged, calling upon the multitudes of Level 4 Akuma at his disposal. The room became filled with them, all desiring to follow the commands of their creator. Kill. Kill the Fourteenth. In the middle of the Akuma was the Fourteenth, surrounded. The Fourteenth raised a hand as the Akuma came closer._

"_Do you mean to kill me?" He asked, a smile on his face. _

"_N-noah-sama..." The Akuma faltered for a second, and that was enough. Within that second the Fourteenth had blasted them all away, his shadows wrapping themselves around the Akuma and breaking them, bit by bit, to pieces. The Earl struck, stabbing into the Fourteenth. The Fourteenth dodged swiftly, escaping with a graze. The Fourteenth retaliated, thrusting his arm forward to stab the Earl. Clang. The two made contact, two forces rejecting each other with all their might as they both pushed, seeking to gain ground. The Akuma closed in behind the Fourteenth, buffeting him with explosions. The Fourteenth moved quickly, using his other arm to swipe at the Earl and distract as he flew into the air. From there, as he fell, he reached his hand out. BOOM. Another explosion occurred as the Akuma in the vicinity were wiped out, leaving the Fourteenth standing in the middle of a crushed down circle. _

_The Akuma threatened to swallow him. He stood there. The Fourteenth stood, unfazed, as his shadows surrounded him to create a shield. _

_He was still smiling._

* * *

**Feedback would make me very happy.**

**Canon: **a theme that is repeated and imitated and built upon by other instruments with a time delay, creating a layered effect. (**It is not a weapon, in this case)**

**(The above unbolded information was derived from Wikipedia)**


	27. Act Nineteen: incalzando

**I'm late, but that is compensated for by this monstrous chapter. Take a deep breath, some coffee or tea before reading, it's the biggest chapter by far, I think. As usual, reviews are wanted and craved for, but if you have read this far you are already awesome.**

**Also, as you may guess, this fanfic is coming to a close in a matter of chapters (meaning it'll only be a matter of time until this fic is no longer viewed by readers ;_; ), and the next chapter will come out early next week for sure.**

**...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

**Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy! (I appreciate feedback)**

* * *

It was not long before the Akuma found us. I'd anticipated this, but it still came somewhat as a surprise, especially when it came at once, without any signs of attack. We were finally found a few days after the Fourteenth had attempted to kill the Earl, with the ambushes being frequent each day, but we were progressing. I had not kept track, but by an estimate it had almost been three months. The days were fast approaching winter, with each day becoming glum and dreary, a fainter and fainter shade of gray. Once or twice we had gone into a town, but we had to be careful when we did so, for it was easier to set up traps when we went to towns or cities.

* * *

_BOOM._ The Akuma flew out from the shadows, firing in all directions. The Fourteenth and I ducked for cover, and I glanced over my shoulder to see what we were up against. A few Level Fours, and an army of Level Threes. Hastily I started to create shields as the Fourteenth ran about, destroying the Akumas in his path. It had been fifteen years since I had been outside, since I'd seen the sun. However, during that time frame I was not idle. The Fourteenth had made sure to teach me any sorcery I might need to protect myself with, to prepare for this moment. That being said, it was not an easy task to keep concentrating on creating spells when the Akuma kept on relentlessly attacking. I frowned in concentration, creating a spell for an explosion.

"An explosion? Good," The Fourteenth said, jumping to my side. "Ok, after this we'll make a run for it with my powers." _BOOM._ At the same time as my explosion the Fourteenth cut down the entire frontline of Akuma and wrapped us both in his shadow spell. We ran from that place immediately and did not stop until we had reached a few hundred kilometres away.

"...whew." The Fourteenth said as he sat down. The Fourteenth studied his arm, where there was a rather large scratch. We were both out of breath, and from the previous battles we were both scratched and bruised in various places.

"A-are you... all...right?" I asked between gasps. The Fourteenth nodded, thoughtfully ripping a piece of his shirt off to make a bandage.

"We...should stay here for a bit." He said, taking a drink of water from his bottle. I nodded.

"I'm surprised though." I commented as I sat down next to him. He looked up.

"What?" I looked at the Fourteenth.

"That none of the Noahs haven't been sent to try and annihilate us." At this, the Fourteenth looked pensive.

"True," He then suddenly smiled. "Or it could be that the Earl is just weirdly sensitive about my betrayal." I put a hand to my head.

"That's not really a laughing matter though." I replied wryly. "Either way, if this pattern of attack from them keeps on going, we're going to be destroyed." The Fourteenth glanced at me.

"Mana, are you scared?" I was slightly caught off guard by his question as I sought to try and answer it. Then I relaxed.

"Not really. Worried and slightly worn out, but not scared." At this the Fourteenth smiled.

"Hey, do you remember the song I wrote a long time ago, Mana? The one that went along with our mother's lullaby?" I wasn't exactly sure where he was intending to go with the conversation, but I followed along.

"Sure." I picked up a stick and drew a couple circles, trying to remember what it had looked like. "It looked like this, right?"

"Yep." He said, happily. "It was my first ever song, so don't you forget it, Mana." The Fourteenth's smile seemed to hold a trace of my little brother within it. I couldn't help but smile in return.

"Ok."

"...And about you worrying about a lack of a plan," The Fourteenth said, stretching a bit, "There is a plan. But for now," He grinned, "We'll go into town as soon as we find one. It all begins there."

* * *

The 'town' we found was more of a city than anything else, one with walls around it and all its inhabitants crowded within it. Its winding steps and streets were traps lurking to ensnare unwary travellers, and more than once we had to stop and ask for the way.

"We're going to meet someone here," The Fourteenth said offhandedly as we booked a room in an inn. "We won't stay long." Once we were well situated within our room in the inn, we donned cloaks and headed out towards the center of the city to buy food for our journey. The inn we were staying in was a strange one, called the Drunken Boor, and it was located on a straggly outskirt within the town, so that it took almost a whole afternoon to go to the center of the city. The center of the city was one wide street, filled with people bartering wares. There were food stalls to cloth stalls to jewellery stalls, all in an array of colors. Once caught in a crowd it would be difficult to get out. We stayed together, careful not to get separated. We first looked at the dried meat, then at the bakeries. However, we did not buy anything, most probably because we did not have much money left. I was going to voice this concern earlier, but it had slipped my mind. The Fourteenth, undeterred, asked the traders their price and took note, moving on towards the vendor that sold leather.

A strangled cry went into the air. I turned around swiftly, alarmed. Through the crowd, I saw a child being beaten by a bearded man. The child was wearing a ragged, torn piece of dirty cloth and was cowering before the man. A slave. The rest of the crowd did not dare interfere, ignoring the cries of the child, but went about going about their own businesses. The beating went on, each slap and cry being heard above the din of the crowd.

"Mana?" The Fourteenth's face loomed before mine. I blinked. My focus had been taken by the beaten child that I had not been paying attention. "What are you…"

"Ah…sorry." I said, and motioned to move on, but the Fourteenth's attention was caught by the beating. His eyes turned a shade darker, but he turned aside to move on to the next vendor when further commotion was heard.

"You! What are you doing to that child?" A young, loud voice was heard.

"What's it to you?" I turned to look, and we saw a warrior-like man confronting the bearded man.

"Don't mistreat that child!" The warrior said, with conviction. The bearded man leered at the warrior. By now a crowd had gathered around them, and we had unknowingly been swept up in it.

"You think you can do anything about it?" The bearded man brought down his hand to slap the child again. The warrior grabbed his hand and roughly twisted it around, bringing the bearded man to his side.

"…" It appeared he whispered something in his ear, but it was low, so it was not heard. The bearded man jerked back, took the boy with him, and stalked away. The warrior turned around to see the crowd, who was murmuring such things as "That man was beating a child? How terrible!" and the like. He glared at them.

"Have you no shame? A child was being beaten right in front of your eyes, and you all did nothing?" His voice was thick with anger as he looked about. Every one of the crowd averted their eyes. "With efforts of kindness, such things can be avoided, but why did you do nothing?"

"How quixotic." The Fourteenth muttered. It was murmur, but it carried. The man turned around and pointed at the Fourteenth, signalling him out. The crowd moved aside and away from him. I was the only one standing next to him as the crowd watched, excited by whatever was to occur.

"Who are you to say that, child? Ideals are meant to be abided by." The warrior said. The Fourteenth's eyes turned even darker, but he merely turned it into a face of an indignant child.

"Don't mistake your ideals for everyone else's. Why should they stick their nose out for someone they don't know?" The warrior sighed at this response, as if in exasperation.

"Because it is right to!" He spoke with the air of an adult teaching an ignorant child, flaunting his knowledge. He talked loudly, as if to emphasize his point. "Are you saying that it's right for that child to be beaten? You can only say that because you're not the one being beaten!"

"…If you want to interfere, it's your call, but you don't have the authority to condemn others for not doing what you're doing. No one cares anymore, so it's useless to try and expect that of anyone." The Fourteenth said, after a bit of hesitation. His face of a child was quickly deteriorating. Internally, it was a pretty interesting and difficult argument on both sides, although I for one could not figure out why the Fourteenth decided to get caught up in it. Morals-wise the warrior was right, but something about it all didn't sit well with me. Perhaps it was the manner in which the warrior presented his argument; his way of forcing his ideals, but there was an angry knot of irritation within me that stirred against the warrior. I silently watched the situation, trying to assess it as best I could. The man looked at the Fourteenth, as if to inspect every inch of him, and then opened his mouth to say quietly,

"…you say only because you have not tried. You're only trying to justify what you did, to ignore the beating." The Fourteenth's eyes flared at this, and the crowd's murmurs were growing louder. I stepped forward. We were attracting too much attention.

"Excuse me. You've said enough, sir." I knew that my appearance would command respect, as I looked near thirty, much different than fifteen years ago._ I was the one that changed, outside, after all_, a fleeting thought crossed my mind. My way of speaking had even changed, mimicking the books I had read during those years. Politer, calmer, refined. The warrior looked up.

"Hello, sir." He nodded towards the Fourteenth. "Is he your child?" I inwardly bristled at this comment, but I ignored it.

"Yes, he is mine." I paused. I had to be careful of what I say. "I also apologize for the disrespect against you, since, for the most part, your proposed reasoning is correct. However," I looked at him full in the face, "I'd advise you to be responsible with your ideals." With that, I placed my hand on my supposed child's shoulder and steering him away through the throng of the crowd.

As I walked towards the inn I glanced at the Fourteenth. That man must have really been dense. A 'child'? The Fourteenth's face was a mask of coolness, a mask of anger. After an onslaught by an adult like that, most children would have broken down crying. The Fourteenth's face betrayed nothing, from the outsider's point of view a calm, collected face. It was, quite in fact, the exact opposite of what a child's face would look like.

* * *

"…I don't like self-righteous people like him." The Fourteenth quietly as we went down the winding corridors.

"…He was right, but he was also wrong, I think." I said, after carefully arranging my thoughts. The Fourteenth looked up at me in surprise. I looked at him, then continued. "What he did was technically right, but it calls for more wrong later on. That child will probably be unable to walk and will be caked in blood tomorrow because of his goodwill interference." The Fourteenth looked down.

"You weren't wrong, Fourteenth." I said, speaking more to myself than to him. "No one really does care anymore." The Fourteenth stood silent for a while before he spoke.

"Humans really are disgusting, Mana. Even when trying to do good." My expression softened.

"…Yes." _Us, as well..._

* * *

"Hmm, that's strange." The Fourteenth said, an unusually blank expression on his face as we went back into the inn to eat and sleep. I glanced at him, starting to get worried again.

"…What?" My face must have really showed my concern, because he went on tiptoe and patted my head reassuringly, although I wasn't sure how much I was reassured.

"The person we were supposed to meet is late." He looked at me. "It's okay, because he'll pay for the inn fee. I know according to plan we were going to leave tomorrow morning, but we'll stay another day. Yeah, he's late." He said this with almost assurance, as if he could see the person being late, which was comical, but unfortunately in the present situation was not funny. I was starting to feel a bit of a headache coming, but I repressed it as much as I could. The Fourteenth's friends were always a little shady, after all. As we took turns that night on guard, I felt sensitive to every sound, creak or voice, and when we finally switched at midnight, I was drawn into a restless dream where the Earl had found my brother and had slaughtered him to pieces with his hat, making his blood into stars.

* * *

"…master. Master." The Earl awoke to the croak of an Akuma at the doorway. The Earl got up and washed his face, cloaked in darkness. For the Noah to send an Akuma…it could either be good news or very bad. The only light in the room was the one from the doorway, where the Akuma was situated. The Earl waited.

"We've lost the traitor." It had been almost three months already. The Earl's patience was slowly wearing thin as he heard the words that he almost didn't hear the next part of the Akuma's report. "However, this time we lost him at a certain location, near a couple large cities, a few of which have strong associations to the Black Order." At this, the Earl's eyes widened.

* * *

I woke up to see the sun up pretty high in the air. The Fourteenth was on alert, sitting against the wall. He had let me sleep in.

"Just wake me up next time." I said with a sigh. "Really, who was the older one here…" He merely smiled in response. I washed my face with the basin in the room, clearing my mind.

_Boom._ It was soft, very soft. It was barely audible. But in the distance, I heard an explosion. I looked through the window. _Boom._ It was still the same softness, probably about a hundred miles away, which was most likely the outer wall of the city.

"Fourteenth." I called worriedly. "We should go. There's explosions in the distance." The Fourteenth sighed, and stood up, looking out of the window with me. He sighed again.

"Really, was it that hard?" He muttered to himself, then got ready. As I also prepared, I noticed that somehow within our bags there was food again. I shook my head and smiled. I didn't think we'd be able to get out easily, but the innkeeper found us as we tried to leave and blocked our path, slowly getting more and more red as the Fourteenth kept infuriating him. I thought it might be better to make a run for it when a rather large _BOOM_ nearby shook the place and made the innkeeper stumble as we ran out. The innkeeper, it seems, decided to scurry in rather than take chances with explosions, for we were able to run out without any further trouble.

"Aha, bingo." I heard the Fourteenth and followed his gaze.

A man came walking towards us. Even at a first glance this man did not look an ounce respectable. Rather, he looked like a drunkard with a black coat with intricate markings all over. His long red hair was haphazardly strewn about, half a mask on his face and a cigar smoking. With his right hand he carried a heavy looking coffin with him, and he was headed straight for us. I tensed, ready if he was an enemy, but did not betray it as I took in the situation further. As he walked by a rather large crowd of people talking and crossed a couple of feet from them, one of them suddenly changed, morphing into a gun aimed to shoot. Without a seconds breath he aimed backwards with a gun he had in his hand and annihilated the Akuma. He then looked at us as the entire crowd morphed into Akuma and started to shoot.

"Yo. Nice finding you at a time like this. I'm currently outta money, so I can't pay your expenses. Wanna run, using the situation to our advantage?" This man said, flicking his hand offhandedly, motioning to the half destroyed inn as he bombarded the Akuma with shots from his gun with his other hand.

"Heh," The Fourteenth smirked. "Behind on your debts, as usual, Cross?" As he said so, he took one of the swords latched onto the man-Cross' coffin, examining it. It was a peculiar sword that looked heavy and bulky with all the seals imbibed within it, but the Fourteenth picked it up easily, and used it to deftly take out the back rank of Akuma, keeping his cloak on about him as he did so. Although I didn't know who Cross was, I understood this blade. The Fourteenth could not use his Noah power, with the exception of his special ability, without being found out by the Earl. The Fourteenth looked at the coffin. "How's Maria?"

"Shaddup." Cross said as he fired off another round. "I've got enough to do without your clowning. It was hard enough to find you. What the hell were you thinking, picking the weirdest place to stay at?" The Fourteenth pretended to be insulted, ignoring the last question. I was, to say the very least, confused by this turn of events, but I took a sword myself as I tried to gather information from their conversation.

"Clowning? Hahaha," He laughed. "That's befitting of me." Cross paused to look back for a second, and motioned to the seal label written on a sheet of paper on the coffin.

"That's a spell to help you disguise against the Akuma. I've already written out the runes, so you just need to activate it." The Fourteenth took it and looked at it, allowing it to glow.

"Wow, you did a good job on this, Cross." He grinned. "As expected of my apprentice." The Fourteenth jerked his head one way to avoid an Akuma attack, which made his hair flow one way and then settle down.

"Shaddap already, ya stupid clown! That disguise'll be useless if the Earl shows up!" Cross growled, gritting his teeth so much that the cigarette in his mouth flew out from the rebound of his gun. The Fourteenth looked at him.

"But really, I'm thankful to you, Cross. Giving me such a befitting nickname and a disguise, I don't know how to thank you." He smiled.

"Hmph." Cross said. He then opened the coffin, wherein a strange light emanated as a woman dressed in black was shaped from it, leaving nothing of the coffin. She was…surreal, I noted, as I noticed that she was a corpse. Her face was covered with black bandages and adorned with a butterfly.

"Magdala Curtain!" Cross said, as a hymn started to stream out from her mouth, enveloping us. The Fourteenth whistled in awe. Cross ignored him. Cross then seemed to see me for the first time.

"So... you're 'Mana', right?" I gathered the Fourteenth had given information to him about me, which was surprising. I put out my hand, it was only courtesy.

"Yes, nice to meet you." Cross took the hand a little jerkily, but complied nonetheless. He did not name himself, but I was used to that. It was safer, sometimes, to keep identities hidden. He then proceeded to talk.

"Right, so we can't go about destroying all the Akuma, 'cause that'll only draw attention to ourselves. What do you want to do, Fourteenth?" The Fourteenth looked at him, thinking. His expression betrayed no expression.

"…Ok, we'll split up here." Cross' eyes narrowed. The Fourteenth smiled. "The Earl's not stupid, Cross. He's probably attacking cities around here at the same time. It'll be more dangerous if we stick together." He walked towards Cross and shoved him lightly on the chest, his face in a perfect, nonchalant smile. "Don't worry." He paused, looking at Cross' half-mask. "That's a nice mask, by the way."

"…don't get caught." Cross' face was almost furious, but he spat those words out. The Fourteenth's smile relaxed a bit.

"As I've said, don't worry. If I get caught, you'd cry, right?" And with that he walked out, with me following, out of the protective sphere, into the world of brambles.

* * *

"…Cross Marian was the informant I told you about before." The Fourteenth explained as we made our way through the city, hurrying and dodging as Akuma fired and rocks went upon our path. I tried to think about it as it all happened, but within the current situation of dodging bullets and rocks I had to concentrate to keep alive. We kept fighting with the bulky swords Cross had supplied us with as much as possible, letting a stray Akuma live now and then, but keeping the concentration was exhausting. By the time we had gotten out of the city my muscles ached and my mind felt numbed as I tried to concentrate further.

"Let's take a short rest when we reach that forest over there." The Fourteenth said, and I nodded. By the forest there was a stream that led into it, and from there we could at least drink water. As soon as we reached it I took our water bags and filled them. When I came back to sit the Fourteenth was fiddling with a transparent image projected vertically from the palm of his right hand, motioning with his left hand various points on the image. I realized that the image was something similar to the musical score my little brother had made, but I did not question it. The Fourteenth was most likely navigating or doing something similar. I needed some time to think. I sat next to the Fourteenth, putting my back to a tree as I tried to process the day's happenings. As I went over it all there was a suspicion I was not able to shake free of. It was the appearance of Cross Marian that was the most bothering. It was perhaps purely coincidence that we had met at a situation like that, but he was late, and we had, indeed, as he had said, stayed at a strangely located inn. I stood up to see the Fourteenth congregating with his shadows, looking at the sunset.

"…Fourteenth?" I asked. I knew that the Fourteenth would answer any question I asked, just as I knew that he would never betray me. It was not arrogance for me to say so either. It was just the truth, fact ingrained within my very self during my life.

"Hm?" The Fourteenth did not look back, but I knew he was smiling, the way he arms were splayed out to bask in the final rays of the sun. I hesitated.

"Did you stay longer in that city on purpose to use the city as bait to be destroyed by the Akuma?" I voiced the lingering suspicion. The Fourteenth froze. An eon passed before he slowly turned around to face me.

I did not know why I had asked that. It was not like I had particularly cared. Maybe that warrior had been right. Maybe I was only annoyed at him because his righteousness showed my ugliness, my darkness, in a bright, sickening light. Compared to my brother the Fourteenth and I dying, I would rather the world die. I knew that truth. It was sickening, and although I did feel a lingering shadow of remorse, I did not care about it all, which made it all the more hypocritical, more disgusting, more cruel for to feel even the slightest bit of pity for a world I was prepared to destroy was contradictory, more merciless than if I didn't have such feelings, for then the destruction of the world would have served my purpose and accomplished something.

"I'm not really that nice of a person, Mana." The Fourteenth finally said, his eyes downcast. "I will lie, I will cheat, I will use people, and I will kill. I'll do anything to achieve a world that leaves us in peace." I looked at my little brother. He was looking at me furtively, like a powder keg of anxiety, waiting for my approval or rejection. I thought back to the past. When I was little and younger, more naïve, and still now, I wanted a world that left us alone. The world was a hurtful place, one overrun with greed, money, and violence. That still had not changed. I was okay with just disappearing from the eyes of the world with my little brother if it meant it would leave us alone, in peace. _Was what we're going to do really right?_ I almost smirked at the question. I'd been struggling with it in the beginning of the long 15 years, and had routinely ignored it whenever doubt arose. Objectively speaking the question should have been 'Was what the Fourteenth going to do really right?', but to strand my little brother with all the responsibility would be cruel. I had not done anything when this had all started but let it happen. All our lives adults have ruled our lives, dictated it, and then forced us with the responsibility to care for ourselves. The world had abandoned us. At least I would take fault for it also, if it ever came to that. But I cared not for that question any longer, because the world had ceased to matter during that time. I looked into the eyes of my little brother, who looked like a child about to be abandoned. I reached forward to hug him, my expression in a complicated grimace, then whispered,

"It's okay. I'm not that kind of a person either, Fourteenth."

* * *

In a nearby city, a door that resembled a crown, adorned in black and red checkers appeared and opened in the middle of the corridor of a tower. An innocent passerby happened to see it, and stared at it in curiosity. Out from it came out a black, slightly wavy haired man with gray skin. The passerby was going to shout, when, all of a sudden he didn't see the need to do so anymore.

Joyd flicked his hair back to study the Akuma he had just made. He yawned a bit, then looked at his surroundings, taking it in, and said,

"Now then, let's unravel this mystery, shall we?"

* * *

**incalzando**: **To get faster and louder.**


	28. Act Twenty: Estinto

**The next chapter is coming early next week.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.**

**Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.**

**Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.**

**Enjoy! (I appreciate feedback)**

* * *

The Fourteenth was thinking. He smiled, and glanced as his older brother Mana, who was sleeping, unaware. He closed his eyes, thinking back to a time long past. He continued to smile, his thoughts veiled.

* * *

The Earl lay awake, awaiting news. He had sent his Akuma, and, for the first time, all of his Noah out. They were to find cities with strong connections to the Black Order and attack, to sack, to destroy everything. They were to hide themselves. That was their other instruction. To reveal the clan of Noah was far too early in the story. Or was it? In any sense if logs of exorcists were available they were to look through it. Through them the single dirty sheep could be rooted out. The sheep of the Innocence, of the hateful God, who had even dared to use the Fourteenth against him.

* * *

My eyes fluttered and opened. My head and body felt heavy and ached. I lifted my head a little, wincing from the bright sun in the distance as it rose. I closed my eyes again, trying to lull myself back to sleep. A few minutes, maybe more, had passed. Suddenly my eyes opened out of their own accord, snapping open. The scenery, the forest nearby and the stream had not changed, but I felt uneasy. I glanced at the Fourteenth, who was asleep. He must've fallen asleep while on guard. I watched the distance, disturbed by the peacefulness. Suddenly I saw a flash in the distance.

"Fourteenth.." I raised my voice, and by the time the Fourteenth had snapped awake it had started.

* * *

"….loud Nine, did mission number 15, destroyed 5 Akumas, last seen in Florence with her unit." Joyd suppressed an urge to yawn. He was so not cut out for this job. He was to go through all the exorcist logs that recorded the information of their activities to find the 'rotten mouse' that had helped the Fourteenth escape and drove the Ark insane. Well, Joyd didn't take it all to heart like Lustful did, but since the Earl got so serious about it… He thought of Lustful's reaction to the whole thing, and snickered a bit.

"Heh, ya gotta loosen up a bit to keep it all cool." He blinked. That was a pretty good quote. Maybe he should write it down or something. Yeah. He let out the yawn that he had been fighting to keep in. He blinked, and tried to refocus at the words and letters again. His eyes hurt. How Road managed to read all these words in school was beyond him. He stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, then went back to work, reading the logs without much enthusiasm.

"General Cross Marian. Was given the mission of finding compatible users for 5 Innocence. Disappeared, no word from him for several years now." Joyd wrinkled his brow at this.

* * *

They were upon us before we could react. It was a horde of Akuma of the likes we had never seen before, in multitudes and multitudes, closing in from all sides. My immediate reaction was to create a shield, but as that would be useless, as the Akuma would all bombard it. I took one of Cross' swords to hack down the nearest Akuma. I grimaced; usually it was the Fourteenth who took the lead in offensive, and with my near-thirty body I was not as agile as I once was. I looked towards the Fourteenth. His hand was outstretched, creating a black orb, and when he released it, it sent a shockwave through the air, and a whole row of Akuma fell.

"What are you doing?" I cried out in shock. The Fourteenth was using his Noah powers which, unlike his special power of using his shadows, were detectable by the Earl. The Fourteenth looked at me as he fired off another one.

"The Akuma are the eyes and hands of the Earl. He'll come anyhow." He smiled. "Well, then." One of his arms reached out towards me, and before I realized what was happening shadows began to come forward and envelop me into a bubble. Before it all was enveloped the Fourteenth turned back to me, his face unreadable and calm. "Don't stop. Keep on walking, okay, Mana? Like our name."

I was furiously hacking at the sides of my prison, and was thrown backwards when the whole bubble was blasted off to the side of the forest. When I looked up I saw my little brother fighting within that mass of Akuma.

"No! What the hell-" The Akuma were piling on each other, jumping into the middle of the fray in order to overwhelm their prey. My little brother.

"Dammit! What are you doing?"_Bam. Bam. Bam._ I pounded the walls of the bubble to no avail. I pounded harder. _. BAM. _As I kept seeing the Akuma pile in on that center, my eyes wide with fear. In a matter of minutes I could not see the Fourteenth anymore. He was swallowed by the Akuma.

"NEAH!" A feral shriek ripped from my throat as I furiously tried to stand up and run towards him, only to hit the walls of my cage. My forehead, from the impact of it, hurt horribly and started to swell, but I did not care. _Bam. Bam. Bam bam bam bam bam bam. _I hit the wall of it as I watched with horror the Akuma sweeping away, leaving nothing left. I pushed my body as close to the wall of the bubble as I could as I watched, mute.

"No." A single word fell out of my mouth, and from there everything fell out. "No, come back!" The Akuma were getting smaller in the distance. I could do nothing but sit there and watch as my little brother was carried away. "No, come back!" _Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. _"Come back here!" _Bam. Bam. _"Dammit, come back!"_Bam. Bam. "_NO!"_Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam._"Dammit!"_ Bam._"Dammit!"_ Bam._ I was yelling at the top of my lungs, though I knew that no one could hear me, that my screams would do nothing. My little brother was gone, dead. "DAMMIT!"_ Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam…Bam…_ "Why, dammit…"_Bam… _I kept on pounding on the walls of the bubble until my strength had left me, my fingers broken and bloodied, leaving the places I'd pummelled dark with blood. I slumped down for one final plea as tears began to well.

"Dammit, come back…" Eternity fell. I couldn't get out. My little brother was gone. I was trapped here. The Akuma took him. _I don't know. _Why did he leave me here? _Somewhere where you aren't ever going to get hurt by anyone._ He was killed, or he was going to be killed. Why did he leave me to live? He did it to protect me? Protect me? _I'm going to stay with you so you don't get hurt._ I couldn't protect him. My little brother. Why? Why him? Why not some scoundrel? Why us? I was supposed to. But I couldn't. It all felt cold._ I will live up to that promise, in addition to the one made to Mother. _I failed. What was this white stuff falling from the sky? My little brother was gone. Why was the world still here? _The Akuma are the eyes and hands of the Earl. _The Fourteenth. Why? He was all alone now. _He'll come anyhow._ Why doesn't the world care? _Well then._ Why? I was trapped here. It never cared. No one cares. The sky was white. _Don't stop._ I was supposed to protect him. The Fourteenth. I was. _Keep walking._ Why did he do that? I lost my world. He's not here anymore. I failed. _ok, Mana?_ My hands stung. Irreplaceable. Why? I was the older brother. _Just like our name._ He was my little brother. Walker. Why? The score. I failed. The sky was so white…

Out from nowhere I heard a harsh voice. It might have been my own. _...and so you see, The Lord will save us because he loves us….Will He save Mana too? If so then its okay._

"…ahaha….and I was the older one…"

* * *

Darkness surrounded the youth, a surprise present for the king. The youth was sad, he had to leave his brother. The king will regret it. The couriers brought him in a sack to the king. A present. Darkness comforted him, the youth. The king will regret it. The youth knew his friend would care for his brother. The king will regret it. The courier lifted the sack, giving the present to the king. The king will regret it in time. But for now…

The Fourteenth looked up to see the Earl. He smiled.

"Hello, Earl."

.

* * *

_._

_._

_If I met you again, would it all end_

_differently?_

_If I met you, would this tragedy_

_reoccur?_

_stay by my side_

_keep away from me._

_be safe._

_die._

_Will I ever _

_meet you again?_

_._

_._

* * *

Far away, in a city, Desires was very happy. He was finally able to display his true self, instead of his usual political self in public. Of course, the Earl had instructed them all not to show themselves, and he, being a Noah, kept that. It was just a matter of destroying all the communications devices and killing witnesses that unwittingly saw him. The Akuma were doing very well, and although there had been a scant amount of exorcists about, they were no match for him. There was one, but Desires was fighting him currently, and he was sure to win. He parried and thrust, like a true gentleman at fencing, as the exorcist with whatever Innocence he was carrying (he didn't pay attention, it was some boring weapon) did his best to dodge.

All of a sudden he felt an intense pain within him. It was a sad, maddening sear of pain, travelling through his mind. He wasn't sure what was going on. The Earl. Who was he? He was Desires. What was happening? Strange images started to explode within his mind and disappear, and as they did he felt they were important, a dread combined with a sense of loss coming forth within his heart. He tried to concentrate on the match. Yes, the match. Between him and the exorcist. He looked around, but to his surprise he couldn't find the insect of an exorcist.

Intense pain scattered like ribbons on his back. The exorcist had gotten around him. How dare he…! Desires caused a heat wave of explosions, but the exorcist was no idiot. Combined with the pain from the inside, the outside pain was making him dizzy. He couldn't concentrate. What was happening? Earl…He felt pain from his leg now. The exorcist was cutting him to ribbons. He could feel it, but he could do nothing.

Damn…there was no way that he was going to go down without also taking the city down with him….!

There was an almighty blast as the city disappeared off the face of the earth.

* * *

Pain. Pain. It burst through like an electric shock, coursing through Lustful's body. What was happening? Her head felt as if it was going to split open. Confusion seemed to reign. She saw the Earl. She saw the Fourteenth. Flashes of the past, an ark, land. The Earl with his black and white sword. The power she had been wielding to destroy increased uncontrollably, and after destroying the targets, the power turned on her. Caught up in the memories in her mind, she did not see that she had attacked herself head on with her own power.

"…Earl…sama.."

* * *

Something was wrong. The Earl felt it. He looked at the body of the Fourteenth in front of him, a corpse, eyes open slightly in an eternal laugh. From the wound on the Fourteenth's chest a puddle of blood had collected onto the ground. Blood dripped from his sword. He had killed him, the traitor. The next to die was the one who had led the Fourteenth astray, the most likely being Cross Marian. But far more troubling was that in that moment something had happened. He had felt a pang of pain when he killed the Fourteenth, but he had attributed it to his trauma with the Fourteenth's betrayal. But then the voices of his Akuma had started to tell him that the Noahs were disappearing, one by one. Was this also the work of the Fourteenth? Or was it by the black sheep? Was it all a trap?

The Earl was furious. He had killed the Fourteenth, and he was to lose the rest of his Noah? Had the Fourteenth been used, he, the Earl himself, used, to kill the Fourteenth, in order to lay a trap for the rest of the Noah? The Earl's eyes clouded in anger. The Black Order will pay dearly…yes, they will pay dearly for this loss.

* * *

Wisely did not like it very much, but his head hurt. Himself being the 'Demon Eye Wisely', he could detach himself from his own brain, just as he was able to look into the thoughts of others, but even though he had already done that his brain hurt. That meant that had he not detached himself, he would have been in a state of agony. Something was happening, his brain felt like it was being messed with and he didn't like it. Nor could he do anything about it; there was some absolute power behind it that he could not go against. He was not sure it was the Earl, but something had definitely happened. He narrowed his eyes to the sight in front of him. Normally he'd be able to take on this many exorcists at once, but as his state of mind was not normal right now, he was wary to use his powers. At the same time, he could not just sit and do nothing. He'd been keeping the situation under control with the Akuma, but there was also a General who was an exorcist to consider. He grimaced, inwardly. With his brain, his ultimate weapon, being sabotaged, it was going to be tough.

* * *

Road had been doing fine, although Lero was not accompanying her on this mission. She was sitting on the shoulder of one of her Akuma to watch the process of destroying her city when the pain hit. She clutched her head; her head hurt so much. Road looked around warily; if it was an attack by one of the exorcists it was a very powerful one. However, the exorcists were all gone; she had seen to that. Was it reinforcements? There were also no signs of that. She was about to send Akuma to check when an abominable amount of pain flashed through her head that she lost all connection to reality.

"_Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!_" She shrieked. Her head. Her head was in agony. Why did it hurt so much? Her door. Yes, she had a door to escape with. She tried to concentrate on her door. Her magic door, to travel dreams with. It was there, in her mind. Her hand was on the handle, and she reached it

She saw a young boy running after a older boy, chased by a grizzly looking man. They were in a dingy looking city, gray, made out of rocks and concrete.

"_Wait, Mana! Mana, wait!" _

"_You idiot! Hurry up already! That guy'll catch up with us any minute!"_

"_You brats! I'll kill you for trying to steal from my stall!"_ The grizzly looking man roared. Road was worried. This place, this city, these people, did not exist inside her realm. Why were they in her realm? Her expression tightened. She didn't have time for this. She had to get back to the Earl. Her door was gone. Road tried to move her hands to create one of her spells, but it didn't work. It wasn't as if she had forgotten the incantation or didn't have the magic; it didn't come out. Nonplussed, Road continued to watch the scene play out in front of her when her mind was caught by something else. The younger of the two boys, who ran off after the older one stayed to get beat up…he looked like the Fourteenth. He looked like him, yet there was nothing similar about them. The Fourteenth was a mystery, a slight hint of madness beneath all that serenity. That child looked as gullible and innocent as a lamb. Road held mixed emotions as she watched the younger of them.

"_YOU BASTARD!"_

"_LET GO OF ME! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!"_

The scene fast forwarded, the scenery changing. She was in a church building now. There was a priest, one that Road recognized vaguely, standing over the younger boy, who was stirring feebly. In the doorway was the older boy, Mana, his face a mask of fury, and to the corner was a dead old lady, her neck broken. The older boy launched himself at the priest. Road watched, impassive, as the older boy managed to maim the priest before he was quickly restrained by others who wore clothes of the Church. As she watched the verdict to follow, she felt uneasy. What was this? Why did all of this pertain to the Fourteenth? Was this the Fourteenth's 'past'? When she had 'awoken' as a Noah, she forgot all of her past human life. She did not regret it. It was worthless. There was nothing there. But why was she in the Fourteenth's?

"_Good morning, Duke Millennium."_

The scene changed again. She saw the smiling face of the Fourteenth, the first time she had ever seen him. The Fourteenth was different from that little boy, although he _was_ the little boy. Had the little boy crumbled, or did the little boy just not exist to begin with? She felt disturbed by this thought. Road had acknowledged it before, at that time, but she had not then fully understood the meaning. The Fourteenth was powerful. More powerful than most, and even from among those he was of a different class. He was not afraid to reach out to the darkness, to smear his world black. That daring to do so, as well as his resolve, was scary. He held very little kindness, but he had purpose, and he had the discipline to pave it out. Not to mention his smile, masking everything made everything seem more sinister than it seemed.

The scene changed once more. She was inside a prison, where the older boy sat, awaiting his doom. There were sounds of a scuffle before the wall was brought down and the Fourteenth arrived, perched on the shoulder of an Akuma.

"_You're okay now, Mana. I'll take care of you."_

This surprised her. She would never have imagined the Fourteenth saying that to anyone, even the Earl, who he seemed to like a lot. For the Fourteenth she knew, everything seemed to be determined by their potential to make him laugh or be amused. His affections were not at all fixated; he seemed to scorn love. Road had observed this all from the years being with the Fourteenth, and did not really care about it. She loved her family, but it was more of it all being an understanding that was the basis of that love. She was okay with it, and she had an understanding with the Fourteenth as well. However, for the Fourteenth it seemed to be almost indifferent, with him smiling all the time like a clown.

From there the Fourteenth was just as she had known him to be, as she saw glimpses and passages of what happened. She couldn't remember them all, but they were all really tiny, insignificant things, like the Fourteenth talking to an older boy in an unknown chamber or playing a piece before a man. It took a few of these glimpses for her to realize that the people that the Fourteenth was interacting with were all the same person. Her eyes were open wide as she took in the sight. They were all "Mana". _"Mana, are you all right?" "Mana, look at this!" "Mana…" "Mana!" _Why was the Fourteenth fixated on this "Mana"? Was it the same human from the very beginning?

Road felt a chill run through her body. The Fourteenth was truly a terrifying person. She had thought that the Fourteenth's love was nonexistent, but this was the Fourteenth's love. Intense, consuming, unwavering. Fixated on one person. Devastating. It was a love that was different from the original meaning of 'love'. The Fourteenth's love was almost akin to a 'bond'; it had nothing of a conventional romance in it. It was only fire and intense will to protect. Everything was for this one person, this "Mana". Pitiful. Merciless. Terrible.

She was distracted as the scenery changed, reaching the one memory that held her in it.

"_You can call me by my name. I'm okay with that."_

The scene changed, one final time. The Fourteenth was talking to someone though a circular symbol in his palm, a proud, almost arrogant smile on his face. Road couldn't hear the Fourteenth very well when he talked this time.

"…"

Road had not realized it, but she was crying.

* * *

Her head hurt with numbing pain. The world felt dizzy. Where was she? Who was she? She was standing in the middle of a field, with some rocks in the distance. There was steam rising from the ground, as if something had burned off whatever was on it. What happened? She shook her head. She could not remember. She searched her memories. They were faded, as if someone had glazed them over. She looked at the distance again. This had been a city. How did she know that? She looked and saw some blood stains. Did she do this? She did not remember. She looked at her memories again. From her faded recollections, there was only one that stood out. It was a face, of a boy. He looked about twelve or thirteen, although he could look younger. She couldn't envision his facial expression, but she knew he would be smiling. How did she know he would be smiling? His black hair stood up at the end, being rather messy, but it was handsomely so. He had a number. Who was this person? He was the only thing she remembered. Who?

When her eyes opened again she was on the ground, feebly stirring. Her head felt drained, tired. She saw a clown cradling her, a very familiar clown. The picture of that lone boy lingered in her mind, but this clown, she also knew. The clown was crying because everyone else, they all disappeared. She smiled weakly and reached out her hand to his crying face.

"Hello, Duke Millenium."

* * *

**Estinto: To play as soft as possible, extinguished, barely audible.**

**For people who are confused: The reason why all the other Noahs disappear is because it is said so in the manga (I believe the 187th night) that all the Noah, when the Fourteenth was killed received memory damage, and that it's been 35 years since the last reincarnation. Road survives because it is mentioned by Skin Boric somewhere before that Road is the 'oldest Noah' out of them all, and this is further supported by Road saying "Since 35 years ago, I was the only one who hadn't reincarnated" to Wisely in the 187th night. If you are wondering about who the person that Road remembers is, I suggest reading the 187th night of D. Grayman once more. **


	29. Finale: Love

**THIS IS NOT THE END.**

* * *

Why couldn't I protect him? Why wouldn't he let me protect him? He was reason for which this world meant anything for. I would have died with him, my only real kin in the world. All my life, it had been us against the world. The world, which lied; ensnaring the gullible, only protecting those with power. The world had already abandoned us at the depths of hell to begin with; we were each other's world. Impatience gurgled at my throat, coupling with my helplessness. It burned, nowhere to escape but to explode within myself. It was different and the same from that time, when I had opened the doors of the Chapel to find my brother on the ground, writhing. Who was I now? No one knew me, nor my brother. We were known by each other. Others simply did not exist; they had, from the start, abandoned us, and we had in turn abandoned them. People were fleeting, like leaves that spilled endlessly from a tree during autumn. People who had been kind, people who had been brutal, they all disappeared in time, whether by my own hands, the Fourteenth's, or fate. It was all just darkness; grief swallowing. I would give anything to bring him back…I was rasping out with a dying voice, bargaining with the wind. The face of the Earl flashed before me, but it was not revenge I seeked. There was no emotion glistening inside any more, only hollow emptiness. My little brother, the Fourteenth, giggling, smiling, grinning, dead. In that instant, was it I who died, or was it he? It all faded away to black.

* * *

My fingers were numb. I looked at them from where I lay. They were red. Why were they red? Why? Why did I fail?... I…failed? My little brother. I had a little brother? My heart hurt. I shouldn't think about it. My heart hurt. It felt like it was going to break. My heart…could break? It seemed almost illogical. My hands hurt. I couldn't for the life of me understand why. Had I done something so stupid as to hurt myself? Was I attacked? Now, what on earth could I have done? I should be more logical. Yes, logical. There was a very peculiar, empty feeling within me that I could not fathom. Could it be anaemia? Anaemia was the deficiency of iron from within the blood. Could I have not had enough iron recently?

I looked at my bearings. I should figure out where I'm going. I couldn't remember, but I think I was travelling. Going somewhere, although to where was unknown. There was some sort of barrier that was around me; it was smeared with blood. I looked at the dark stains upon the spherical gray dome, already beginning to dry. Whose blood was that, I wonder? I looked at it, at the dark puddle near my foot where the liquid part of it all had seeped down to. I prodded it with my unmoving finger, doodling with the blood on the clear surface. There was snow all around me, but the bubble separated me from it. I sank down onto the floor once again, my arm moving my finger to make swirls with the blood. The contrast of the blood within the bubble to the snow outside was marvelling. The particles of the snow to the liquidity of the blood, the red stark within the white. I thought of the colour black. Black, the colour of darkness, which consumed things, made things pleasant. I hummed as the blood wiped away and bunched up, drying up as I kept on swirling. I made a dot with it, and it created a dot, but when I inched my way over to it, there were tiny little lines within the blood, marked by my finger. I held my bloody finger before my eye, marvelling the dark liquid, the redness of it all. I stared at my mangled hands. My fingers were twisted in an odd way, my thumb bent back where it should not be. Or was it? I was not so sure anymore. The knuckles that jointed my fingers to my hand were torn open, blood clotting at the surface but the raw flesh underneath was still pulsing. My right hand I could not open, my body would not do as I wanted it to.

I hummed absently, watching my arms, my hands, and the blood from where I lay, on the ground. I raised my hands above my head; I felt like I was falling from space that way. From the white, bright sky to the unknown down below. It was almost like a dream. A wonderful, wonderful dream.

* * *

The first thing he saw was blood.

"Bloody hell." Cross had backtracked from where he was when the Fourteenth had contacted him last, an ominous message through Timcampi. He grasped the complex 'key' rune in his hand, which the Fourteenth had given him when he had shoved him before they separated. He knew something was up. Something was going on in the Fourteenth's twisted mind, for the last message he had sent was almost certain of his death.

_Don't worry, Cross. I'll come back. If you keep watch over Mana and keep him safe, I'll definitely come back. I swear it. There is and will be nothing in this world that can separate me from Mana. Even death._

At that time, Cross had been worried. The Akuma had been destroying city after city, placing the Fourteenth and Mana in close proximity with them. The Fourteenth only said that, as if sure of his death, and cut the connection. That had made him even more worried, and he had turned back from where he was.

The sight before him was gruesome. It was the Fourteenth's barrier, he knew, and it was most likely holding his precious treasure, Mana Walker. But from the outside Cross could see the bloodstains, and more disturbing was that the top of the barrier was starting to flounder away, breaking apart. The Fourteenth would never have let that happen. Cross raised his eyebrow as he smoked, looking for more clues. Unless he was dead. He gazed at the barrier. He took the 'key' rune that was handed to him, and opened the barrier up. Mana Walker tumbled out, unconscious, hands bloodied, the unclotted blood staining the white snow.

"What the freak is this? ...Hey, you. You..." Cross barked out, but his words died on his lips. Mana Walker was unconscious, his hands broken, blood clotting at the torn flesh. Cross tore his gaze away, then reached out towards the man before him. He slung Mana Walker over his shoulder and started to head for the closest village, dragging Maria's coffin behind him.

* * *

Mana Walker had been in bed for a full night, and during that time Cross had fallen asleep. When he awoke, Mana Walker had yet to wake. Cross stared at the bandages wound around Mana Walker's hands and arms. He'd taken Mana Walker into an inn and had the doctor look at him. Cross wasn't too sure what had happened to the Fourteenth, but if he was leaving his elder brother in such a state, then things weren't looking too good. Cross grimaced. He supported the Fourteenth, but if the Fourteenth died, what was he to do. He glanced at Mana Walker and thought about the Fourteenth's words. He wanted so badly to dismiss those words as bravado, as chutzpah, but it was the Fourteenth after all; the Fourteenth probably knew more about the sorcery that lay around the areas of death than he did. He looked at the wrinkles on Mana Walker's face, signs of age and wear. He'd ask Mana when he woke up. Yeah, that's what he'd do.

He asked the inn's maid to come get him when Mana woke up; he was going for a smoke. Timcampi fluttered around him, a yellow golden fluffball in the wind. Cross stared at Tim fluttering about, thinking about the Fourteenth. He lit the cigarette, the smoke lingering as he watched the sun in the sky. For the moment, he and Mana Walker were safe; Maria was guarding Mana, for now.

"Where's your bloody master, huh, Tim?" Cross said softly, more to himself than Timcampi. Timcampi merely opened his mouth, revealing a sharp row of teeth, and bit Cross' finger almost defiantly. Cross frowned. Timcampi let go, and fluttered around some more before finally settling on his hat. Cross snorted. Tim was a strange golem; one with personality. He cursed himself for thinking that; it only made him think about the Fourteenth more. He remembered the time when the Fourteenth introduced him to Mana Walker, although Mana Walker himself had not been awake to see him. It was through Timcampi, long before the Fourteenth betrayed the Earl, on a night when the Fourteenth had seemingly contacted him for no reason.

"_What?" Cross growled. Tim had opened his mouth and the image of the Fourteenth was there. Surprisingly, he wasn't smiling that maddening smile of his; it was rather a more subtle smile. "What happened?"_

"_The plan's going well, so far." The Fourteenth said smoothly. Cross's face turned into a scowl._

"_Is that it?" _

"…_there's someone you are going to meet." The Fourteenth said, seriously, although Cross could never tell whether the Fourteenth was serious. The Fourteenth gestured over to a figure that was laying on a bed. It was a man, perhaps in his twenties. His face was peaceful as he slept. Cross raised his eyebrow. Just what was the Fourteenth trying to show him? _

"_Cross, he'll meet you later, but this is my elder brother, Mana Walker." The Fourteenth said, his gaze on the man with as much affection as Cross had ever seen on his face. Cross didn't have any words to answer him with. Cross Marian was stunned. The Fourteenth had a brother. For a moment Cross thought whether the Fourteenth was bluffing and looked at the Fourteenth's face. The Fourteenth was smiling, but his smile was smaller, less mirthful than usual, but it was more genuine. _

Cross blew out a puff of smoke, inhaling the cold morning air deeply. He snickered wryly. He remembered that night, he had lain awake, hours after Tim had disconnected, just staring at the ceiling. What a fool he was then, getting caught up over that revelation. He was about to reminisce a bit more when he was startled by footsteps behind him. He whipped around, his gun at the ready just in case, but it was merely the maid.

"Um…zee man…he's awake." She said, staring at the ground in timidity. Cross dropped his cigarette, ground the remains of it with the heel of his boot, and stalked into the inn, heading straight for Mana Walker's room. He reached it, and looked at Mana Walker. He was, indeed, awake, although looking a bit disoriented. Cross could understand that.

"Oi. Mana Walker." He barked out as he entered the room. No response. "Mana Walker." He said a little louder, and reached the bedside. Cross looked at Mana Walker's face, and his words stopped, altogether. There was nothing in this man's face, nothing at all. There was something wrong with him. Mana Walker's lips moved, but Cross could only hear a faint croaking sound. The maid, who had followed him, watched timidly.

"…um, he jus' woke up and stared at me, so I jus'…" The maid started to say, breaking the silence. Cross Marian galvanized into action.

"Hey, can you get me some water?" He barked; he didn't have time to be polite. The maid, although startled, complied, giving Cross some time to examine Mana Walker's face.

Mana Walker's face was blank, his eyes glazed over. Cross sat down, disturbed. Was there something wrong with him? He put his hand to Mana's forehead; there was no fever. Cross could feel frustration building as he stared into that eternally blank face, merely reflecting Cross in those eyes. He knew that Mana Walker had probably lost his voice, but that didn't explain why Mana Walker was in this dreamlike state. Damn it, what was wrong with Mana Walker? In time the maid came back with a glass and a pitcher of water.

"…mizzter, I got the water, um…" Cross took it from her unceremoniously, pouring the water into the glass and lifting it to Mana Walker's lips. Some of the water sloshed onto Mana's clothing, but Cross could see Mana drinking it. He took time, giving Mana sometime to breathe in between, and made Mana drink all of the water in the cup.

"…" Mana's voice croaked out in indiscernible gibberish before calming down and falling asleep again. A few hours later, Mana woke up again and this time asked for water from the maid. Cross was smoking outside again then; he had been alerted by the maid, who had fearfully exclaimed to him that 'zee man who be touched in zee head had asked 'er for water in perfect speech'. Unable to discern her excited speech, he walked back into the room, only to be greeted by Mana Walker. Mana Walker looked up at him as he entered, his expression dreamy.

"Oh…hello, I'm so sorry, I'm afraid I must have fainted from anaemia or something out in the woods. Thank you for carrying me here. I think I'm quite fine now, I can pay the inn…" Mana Walker said, absently and in perfect English. Mana Walker kept on blathering about unnecessary things, but Cross could not hear them as he stood there, confused. "…I think I shall head out now, I need to keep moving." Cross Marian was frozen in place as he watched the man get up and hobble a few feet before he found speech once more.

"O..oi!" He said. Mana Walker turned back, concern showing in his eyes.

"Hm? Are you okay, sir?" Cross Marian was positively alarmed now. He strode over to Mana Walker and took his shoulders, looking into his eyes.

"What are you freaking talking about? Are _you_ all right?" Mana Walker blinked, his expression blank.

"Why yes." Mana Walker looked surprised, as if confused as to why Cross was asking him that. He looked at his hands, as if suddenly noticing that they were bandaged. "Oh, if it's about my hands, they should be fine." He used one of his hands to brush Cross' hands off his shoulder, but Cross tightened his grip.

"Mana…Mana Walker!" Cross hissed at him; the maid was still nearby. Mana looked even more perplexed at this, clueless.

"Why, that's my name. How did you know…" Mana Walker trailed off, looking into the air. He looked so dazed, it was quite scary. Suddenly he twitched, and started to speak in a very serene, calm voice, as if forgetting Cross Marian's existence.

"A clown is a respectable job. A clown… yes, that holds out candy in return for dandelions to little children. I remember one…." Mana Walker trailed off once again, and without a second look at Cross he turned around. Cross watched Mana Walker hobble away.

Cross did not know what to think. Did Mana Walker merely forget everything? Was he bluffing, to protect himself? He had felt uneasy talking to the man; it was as if that man was a shadow, as if he could break any second. With his training as an exorcist Cross had learned to read people's intentions beforehand, but the current Mana Walker was unreadable. There just seemed to be darkness, a world that made no sense. Cross couldn't understand what happened. Cross could only sense that he was wild and unreasonable, concealed by an unpredictable serenity. There was almost no will behind his actions. He was dangerous.

"Becoming a clown…what the freak?" Cross mumbled, looking at the bloodstains from Mana walker that had lingered on his coat when he had brought him to the inn. Mana Walker, from what he'd seen when he'd met the Fourteenth again, had been a man of silence, searching out the best outcome from the situation. He'd looked worn out, worrying aging his already aging face. There was no trace of that now. That calmness…Cross looked at the bloodstains once more. They were a dark, faded red, turning brown.

"..zat man…he be touched in zee head." The maid said, in a high whisper. He grimaced. He'd almost forgotten about her. But her words held a form of truth in them that Cross Marian longed to disregard. Mana Walker had, it seems gone insane. Once he had stated it, it became more real, more true. It made sense. Despair seemed to cling to Cross, dripping from him like that time when he had held Maria's open corpse in his arms, the water invading his every pore. He sat down on the bed, his head facing the ground.

It was useless then. The Fourteenth, even if he managed to come back, would come back to nothing. The older brother he'd cherished would not be there. What was the point, then? Cross Marian felt a slight dread, as well as a great hopelessness for the whole affair. He then stopped to reassess for a bit. Wait, no, this was the Fourteenth, not some random idiot down the road. The Fourteenth, who was hopelessly crazy._ Don't worry, Cross. I'll come back. _The Fourteenth, who kept promises._ If you keep watch over Mana and keep him safe, I'll definitely come back. I swear it. _He thought for a bit, and the thoughts that came chilled him to his core. If it was the Fourteenth, then he'd hug his broken elder brother like nothing was wrong._ There is and will be nothing in this world that can separate me from Mana._ He would blame everything on the world. And he would do everything in his power to see his justice sounded ridiculous; it sounded laughable; but when looked at it the reality of it happening was frighteningly real. When thought about it was not even a funny thought. Only the idiots would laugh at it, only those who do not comprehend. It was morbid, and it was terrifying, that kind of raw power. But he, Cross Marian, could see it, a world only existing for a soulless body and the mournful conqueror, who was mad enough to love.

_Even death._

* * *

_..._


	30. Curtain Call: Allen

**...**

* * *

The man had travelled for many miles. He wasn't even sure where he had ever started. He'd stick around for a while, work odd jobs here and there, and disappear like the wind. He was a person with a thin shadow, an existence that people seemed to pass by and forget easily. Few people questioned who he was, and those who did forgot in time. His favourite job was a clown, to stand in front of crowds and make people laugh with his seeming stupidity. He was a skilled one too. Making mess-ups seem like actual mess-ups instead of orchestrated ones were second nature to him, and his skills in juggling and acrobatics were superb. However, he was old. That's why he was cast as the clown, which was fortunately his favourite job. The ringmaster didn't want to let the crowd see that his real face was old, drab, and homely. The circus was supposed to represent a kind of romance, pretty women with umbrellas walking the tightropes, youth doing acrobatics, a strong looking beast master, a benign ringmaster. A face that was approaching fifty or so (no one knew the man's age) was not to be shown. He must be the clown. His name wasn't even listed in the pamphlets that were handed out before the circus; it just said CLOWN, which suited the man fine. He kept his makeup on, even when it wasn't show time. The other acrobats and members of the troupe often didn't like him much; he was a curious man. That suited him fine; he seemed to want to just wander about. The clown shined on stage, making people laugh throughout the decades. One little boy, who watched him one night, said of him after watching,

"I feel sad for him. He's always being laughed at."

* * *

The man looked at the last of the leaves falling from the tree. They were rotten, shrivelling leaves that had endured the autumn winds only to wither and fall as winter was on the cusp. He absentmindedly patted the dog that he had become friendly with, long ago. It was a show dog that could do tricks, and when he had noticed it had been following him. That had been a long, long time ago. Maybe years? The man didn't know. He now found this odd. He stroked the dog, mesmerized by the brown spots on its coat. He had never actually looked at the coat of the dog before. The dog had been with him for a while, but he didn't have a name. The troupe he was with always decided that. The man looked at the cloudy white sky, dazed. He knew this brightness, of the sun behind the clouds, emanating a luminous glow. The man smiled. He was at a place that was brighter than white, he decided. The dog curled up beside him.

Some time must have passed, for when he noticed there was a plate of warm food besides him, and he had no idea how it got there. He was cold, and the dog was whimpering. He brushed the copious amount of snow that had accumulated off him, and went inside, the dog following him. He sat at his end of the long brown tables that were for the circus performers, eating and sharing his food with the dog.

* * *

The man felt a kick, and woke up. The perpetrator was a young man standing before him, his face in a cruel sneer. The man studied his face, trying to remember. The face was familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. It was like his brain had processed that this particular face was not important to remember, although the man did not know how his brain processed that.

"We're goin' ta start soon, _Clown_." The sneering young man said, emphasizing the word 'clown' in a demeaning way. The man smiled politely. Perhaps this young man was mad that he couldn't remember his name. The young man grew angry at the smiling man.

"Wot's so damn funny?" He aimed another kick at the man, but this time the man was ready. He was a clown. Dodging and looking funny was his forte. He did a cartwheel to dodge, sliding deftly under the younger man's legs. The dog, excited, started to bark as his master did these things. It was practice, once more. The man danced in circles, slipped, and did overall ridiculous things as he dodged the younger man, who tried to punch him. The dog followed suit, doing somersaults and tricks to compliment the man's. It ended when the dog launched himself into the air and the man caught him, for another member of the performers poked her head out to yell in a irritated fashion,

"Nice practicin', Clown, Cosimo, but would ya two _mind_ helpin' us set up?" The ringmaster followed closely behind her, looking disapprovingly at them. The young man looked down in shame, his face bitter. The man walked off, the dog still in his arms. Cosimo. That was the young man's name. The man searched his memory for that name. Cosimo. He always fell, and blamed others. Cosimo. If he remembered correctly, he was one of the many troupe members that had nothing but the circus. That made sense. The dog started to yelp to get his master's attention. The man, surprised, let the dog go, and petted him, taking the dog's accessory from his pocket to slip it onto the dog's neck. It was a frilly collar, much like the one the man wore. The dog barked happily; it knew it was show time.

* * *

"Good job, all of you! I heard some pretty good things from the audience tonight!" The ringmaster said happily to the entire troupe as they feasted that night. "The clap at the end was especially spectacular-" The ringmaster went on with his speech. The man did not particularly care, but he and the dog had done a good job, as always, so he politely smiled and clapped.

"The ringmaster's happy because he got a lot of tips and praise tonight," The man overheard one of the tightrope performers whisper.

"Hehe, I wonder if he'll give me a tip tonight, since he's in such a good mood? Or he might not do anything, since he'll be so drunk." One of them giggled. The man ignored the comment. The man knew that the ringmaster slept those of the troupe regardless of gender, using excuses such as good performance to bring it about. Most of the time those who were picked by the ringmaster couldn't refuse; they had nothing except for the circus. The man had heard these whispers as he had wandered about this particular circus and had heard of similar things in other circuses, but he didn't pay it much mind. He was a man nearing fifty (perhaps sixty? He couldn't remember), and since he was the clown, and odd person, he was safe. He was also leaving soon, anyways. He petted the dog absently again, enjoying his food, when he sensed everyone to be staring at him. The ringmaster must have said something about him. He cocked his head slightly to one side, an amused expression on his face, as he tried to focus on what was said.

"Clown and his dog did a wonderful job tonight; the crowd roared an encore for them, if you noticed." The ringmaster said gruffly. "The audience complimented you quite a lot." The man knew that the ringmaster didn't really want to say these words of praise, but that it was a fact that an encore was called for the clown, and even that the ringmaster could not ignore. The man said nothing, but humbly looked down at the table with a small smile on his face as a polite round of applause went around. He was not a sociable person, so no one came and clapped him on the shoulder or congratulated him loudly; which suited him fine. He remembered someone from another place saying that he was a man content with being left alone. He thought about that for a bit, losing himself in the logic of it.

It made no sense.

* * *

"Ringmaster, how'd I do?" There was a voice. It was an almost pleading, simpering voice, trying to curry favour. There were more words, but the man was tired. So tired. The man lumbered along. He had fallen asleep at the dinner table. He had to get back to his tent and sleep. The main tent was dark now. There was a lit room that was enclosed by a curtain. The man was tired. He knew the exit was a turn from where that room was. The man walked.

"You fool! Because of you the show almost went askew! What were you doing, jumping at that point? Could've caused Madame Lilac to break her neck!" At that moment the curtain was swept aside and light hit the man's eyes, causing him to shield his eyes. The ringmaster, who had opened the curtain, looked at the man and his dog in confusion and turned around to Cosimo. Cosimo was in the back end of the room, half naked. The ringmaster smelled of beer and alcohol.

"Damn it Cosimo, even this _dog_ did a better performance than you!" The ringmaster said, quite drunk. Cosimo's stunned face turned to that of humiliation. The man nodded to the ringmaster and went on his way. He didn't want any trouble, after all.

* * *

"Hey! Hey, CLOWN!" The man turned around. It was…Cosimo, running towards him in the darkness. Yes, Cosimo. Pitiful Cosimo. He couldn't quite remember why he was so pitiful though. The man said nothing. Cosimo approached him, his face red from beer, anger and derision distorting his face.

"Prowlin' 'round at night, hopin' the ringmaster would invite ya to his bed, aren't ya? Wot sick taste ya have…too bad you're too old! Haha, even the ringmaster doesn't want ya!" The man continued to say nothing. In fact, he wasn't really listening. He had no idea what Cosimo was saying. He was wondering why Cosimo was pitiful. He wasn't very sure. Somewhere in his mind, he had thought that Cosimo was pitiful, but as to why the connection was lost. The man turned around, his painted, clownish face betraying nothing, and walked away, wondering why. Why? It was a familiar question; he must have asked it of himself before. When was it? He felt like it had something to do with flowers…yes, white flowers, falling from the sky. Why were white flowers falling from the sky? It made no sense. The man was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn't hear Cosimo's words.

* * *

"Is he dead?"

A young boy stood arrogantly before him, his breath a puff of white smoke in the cold air. The man did not know when that happened.

"He's dead." The man replied calmly. He had been digging a grave for the dog. Yes, that was right. It was his dog. His dog? Yes, that was right. The dog was his friend. When he had woken up the dog had not been there, and he had gone to look. The dog had been laying in the snow, black and blue.

"…He's covered in bruises." The boy commented. The man said nothing, but started to cover up the grave. He took out an old star-patterned ball from his pocket; the dog had liked it. The boy started to talk.

"Cosimo probably did it. 'cause the audience likes you more than him." The boy said, talking to the mound as the man placed the ball on top of it. "He hates it when others are better'n him. He's got no talent, except when it comes to stuff like this." The man felt like talking.

"He was an old dog. He wouldn't have lived much longer anyway." The man paused slightly as he brushed the dirt off of his hands. He felt he should say something reassuring, although he couldn't understand why. "It's all right."

"…hmm." The boy answered, kneeling down to squat next to the man. He looked at the man. "You aren't gonna get revenge?"

"If I do that, I'll get thrown out of here and won't get paid." The man replied as he recited a prayer for the dog. It was a prayer that he had learned before he had joined any circus group, in a far off land. The boy had an almost disgusted look.

"I'm a newcomer, after all." The man said absently. "After Christmas tomorrow, I'll move onto somewhere new…"

"I see." The boy said, placing his jaw on his hand. He looked into space.

"…Hmm?" The man looked at the boy in the face for the first time. The man had been talking; he had known that, but he had not exactly been aware of exactly who. The boy had dirty reddish brown hair, clad in equally dirty clothing that had holes in it. The man couldn't remember his face. Had he seen the boy somewhere? "Who are you, anyway?"

"I do odd jobs around here…I've brought you dinner before." The boy replied, not looking at the man. The man could not remember if he did or not.

"I have a bad memory for faces." It was true. Something stuck out to him as he kept staring at the boy. "Oh my! You're covered in bruises too, aren't you?" The man stuck his finger out and licked it, applying the spit to the bluish purpling bruise on the boy's face. At this the boy immediately recoiled.

"Wah! Gross! Get your spit off me, dummy!" The boy yelled out.

"It's disinfectant." The man said simply. He followed the bruises of the boy with his eyes. "Did Cosimo beat you up?"

"Shut up." The boy's reaction was immediate. The man, although his makeup gave him a perpetual smile, felt his heart smiling for a change, although he didn't know that could happen. It felt like it hadn't happened in a while.

"Don't you have any friends?" The man prodded.

"Shut up!" The boy replied angrily, bringing his head up as if to retaliate, then going back to a crouching position. "When I grow up…I'm getting out of here as soon as I'm strong enough, so I don't need any friends." Somehow, this small speech of the little boy was familiar. The man could not quite place it, but it was familiar to…something. Something nostalgic. The man felt a profound sadness. He needed to chase it away.

"What are you doing?" The boy asked, quite disgusted. The man had created the face that he always made to make the crowd laugh; it was a funny face, where he used his hands to distort his face into one that was almost unreal.

"You didn't think it was funny?" He asked, a little sad that it didn't work.

"Sorry, but I don't like clowns and stuff." The boy paused. "In fact, I hate 'em."

"My, my." The man decided to act miffed. "Well, I hate crowds and children who don't laugh." The boy replied with a "Hmph." Some time passed. The man looked at the trees. It was near Christmas now, so all the leaves had gone. Something about the snow made him feel empty.

"Aren't…you gonna cry?" The man looked at the boy once more. "He lived with you for a long time, didn't he?" The boy was looking at the mound again, eyes focused on the lonely star-patterned ball sitting upon it. "Aren't you sad?"

"So sad I could die." The man said, hanging his head from a quickly made noose that hung off a tree.

"Quit it!" Screeched the boy.

"But I can't cry." The man said. When he said it, he realized it was true. The boy looked at him searchingly, as if to decide whether the man was safe to be around. The man set to untying the noose. "Maybe my tears are dried up." He looked at his hands, at his breath in the cold air. "They just don't come." The boy watched him.

"What's up with that?" The boy asked, his face in a scowl. "What was his name?" The man looked at the mound, with the star-patterned ball atop it. "He licked my hand yesterday. His tongue was warm."

"So how come…" The boy took a breath. He had begun to sob. "I'm crying over him?" The man watched the boy cry in a very loud fashion (consisting of loud wails of "Waah!"), but he felt he understood.

"I see."

* * *

"Do you want to become a clown, like me?" The man asked. The boy looked at him, his face in that scowl. The man could tell that the idea was rolling in his head.

"Well, the idea isn't _too_ bad, I s'pose."

The man left the circus on Christmas, like he said, with a little boy walking next to him.

* * *

"Mamma, this boy can do a lot of stuff. He can juggle, and-"

"That's wonderful, honey. What's your name, sweetie-" The boy was about to give his name when a screech went up into the air.

"_Monster! Leave my child alone!"_ The woman walked away with her daughter quickly. The boy frowned. He looked at his arm, his shrivelled, deformed arm. He had kept it hidden well, but he had accidently scratched his nose in front of the woman. He shook his head, telling himself that he didn't care, but the tears came, all the same.

"Are you crying?" The man was standing before him. The man never said it in a patronizing or mean way, just kindly, but the boy still didn't like people doing that. He wasn't used to it.

"Sh-shut up. Am not!" He wiped his tears with his fingers. The teardrops felt cold on his skin. Later, when he was on the man's back, warm and sleepy, he asked a question.

"Would things have been different if I didn't have this arm?" The man didn't answer.

"If things become difficult, never stand still." The man said, in his kind and usual manner. "Always keep walking, Allen." The boy was going to retort that that did not answer his question, but he felt so warm and comfortable that he decided not to.

* * *

The man did not wear makeup all the time anymore, he only wore it when they were acting, he and the boy, on the street corners to get tips, or when they performed with a troupe. The winter was getting cold, and he had decided to buy the boy a coat. The boy had cut his hair too. The man thought the boy would be happy with a coat. The man showed it to the boy, and the boy almost ran, but the man was quicker. The man started to wrap the coat around the boy, crouching down to button it.

"I don't wanna wear such childish clothes!" The man smiled as the boy pulled at his cheeks in full retaliation.

"It's fine, you're very cute!" It was a compliment.

"Ugh, but I wanna be a cool clown! Gimme a break!" The bicker squabble continued as the man held up the boy in his arms and put him on his back, a never ending, warm, almost meaningless banter. There was a flutter of feathers atop the treetops of a yellow golem, but that the man and the boy never noticed.

* * *

"…" The man called the boy's name. "Do you want to play a game, while we wait for the train?" The boy nodded. He was clad in the coat the man had bought him. It wasn't too bad, he thought with a slight scowl. The man began to draw two circles into the snow with a stick, and started to scribble on the drawn circles.

"…, what's that?" The boy asked, looking at the unfamiliar symbol. It looked like two lines attached to two more lines that had circles at the end of it. The man smiled; a flicker reminiscent of some bygone past.

"This is a note, and it's a code."

* * *

"You want me to revive Mana Walker?-3"

A fat clown appeared before the boy. So sad. So lonely. The man was not even related to him, he knew that. But he'd been thrown away because of his defective hand, and the man was the only one that adopted him. The boy spoke the words to the fat clown, words that were only pleas.

"A..lle…n." A coarse voice came from the skull of the skeleton that the clown produced. Was it the man's? MANA was written on the forehead of the skull. "You made me into an Akuma…"

Pain. Pain slashed through the boy. He couldn't open his left eye. What happened? With his other eye he could see blood. His left cheek hurt. He was scared.

"ALLEN! YOU MADE ME INTO AN AKUMA!" The skeleton roared, in the man's voice. "I'LL CURSE YOU-I'LL CURSE YOU, ALLEN!" No. No. The man was supposed to come back. The boy didn't want to make the man mad. From his right eye he began to cry.

The clown hummed a tune. Sorry. He was so sorry. He didn't mean to make the man mad. What was happening? He didn't know. He felt his left arm moving, and saw it tear apart the glove that he wore. In the place of his arm, there was a white, clawlike arm. It went and swallowed the skeleton. The skeleton screamed with the man's voice as the claw came in contact.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" The boy didn't know what happened. What was the claw? The clown disappeared. The claw seeked to destroy. It grabbed towards the body, the evil. The boy was dragged along with it as the claw moved itself towards the skeleton.

"What the hell…?" The boy was confused. So confused. What happened? "My hand just automatically.." He looked up and saw the skeleton writhing on the ground, unable to stand. The man. The claw was headed for the man. Destroy. Destroy. Destroy.

"Mana?" No. Not Mana. He didn't want to do this. "No, don't do this to Mana..!" Mana was bleeding from the forehead. He had done it. His arm had done it. No. He didn't want to do this.

"Run…Run, Dad!" He cried out. No. Why did this happen? He just wanted Mana back… Mana couldn't move. The claw…_his_ claw was unavoidable.

"Allen…I…love you…" No. This wasn't supposed to happen. Mana was supposed to hug him. And then tell him sorry that he left so suddenly. And then he'd hug Mana back. And then…and then…

"Please destroy me." As the claws dug in, the curse was forever imprinted in Allen Walker's memory.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

* * *

**Thank you for reading this long, laborious story of Mana and the Fourteenth.**


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